Cutting Hair
by Aura
Summary: Gilgamesh is summoned for the 7th Grail War by Rin Tohsaka's granddaughter, unwittingly saving him from the void the grail left him in. She doesn't fully understand what she's getting into, she expected a Servant that didn't listen well and was prideful...but she may have bitten off more than she can chew with the King of Heroes. Mature for planned eventual content.
1. Bring Me To Life

**Chapter One:** **_Bring Me To Life_**

 _"Without a soul, my spirit sleeping somewhere cold. Until you find it there and lead it back home. Now that I know what I'm without. You can't just leave me. Breath into me and make me real…"_

 **-Evanescence Lyrics,** ** _Bring Me To Life_**

 _Limbo._

 _Extinction, nothingness, pure nothingness…and undiluted emptiness…there was a void within the black sludge of the grail that was nonexistence. The torment, the curses, those would have still been preferred to the purgatory of nowhere. The grail eventually figured it out, the method by which to torment me wasn't nightmarish images or hellish suffering…it was to drop me into oblivion. It learned the best method by which to eclipse my soul…to forfeit my mind…was the disregard of all things, the amnesia of not just the world, but of myself…exhaustive unawareness ravaged my spirit until even gold rusted…unable to catch a pinprick of light in the gloom._

I took a deep breath, if I didn't steady myself, this would never work. I glanced back to my measurements, they had to be exact for this to function. I didn't know if the summoning would work the way I hoped but I expected it would. It wasn't much, but I knew from my research that having something that belonged to a legendary hero improved the chance of getting that spirit to come to you.

The bones of an arm and a hand were piled neatly in the center of the circle. Currently, I was adding a small inner circle of magical dust mixed with gold dust. It was almost as costly as the entirety of the estate but I needed it. I had to get the most powerful servant, and despite what some research might say, I didn't believe that was a Saber. I glanced to the clock, I had a few more minutes before the time that would best work, when the moon would be full overhead.

Then, perhaps it wasn't the best idea that I was trying to summon a spirit that may have been destroyed completely during the fifth Holy Grail War. Not to mention one that had traditionally been far from accepting of his Masters orders. I let out my breath in a sigh and took another one, glancing at my circle. My nervousness wasn't really about the circle, it was perfect. An addition to the Tohsaka household foundation years ago, during grandmother's time she had it forged after her own participation in the fifth war. She'd created a painstakingly detailed circle for future generations. I appreciated it now, as I wasn't sure if my own creation could have stood up to it even if I had made some small changes to fit my purpose.

Grandmother…her soul was at rest now, along with my parents, but I'd always taken after Rin more than either of my parents, at least that's what I'd been told for years growing up with Shiro. I knew more truth of at least two of the last three wars than almost any other person that could be called upon to participate. The last war though…my understanding of it was frustratingly vague…

The sixth war had happened shortly after I was born, it's where my parents and grandmother both had been killed. Shiro hadn't been involved directly and he didn't answer many of my questions about it even though he had told me about the others. He'd lost his wife then, Arturia had been called to another to serve in that war…and when it was over she hadn't retained her form to remain with Shiro any longer. Perhaps that was why Shiro didn't like to talk about it, too painfully close to when he'd lost his wife. Instead he'd described in detail the fourth and fifth wars, more than most mages knew, more than was in any written history.

How Gilgamesh had betrayed my great grandfather during the fourth war, how he had gone to the side of the madman. But Gilgamesh had won, he was strong, stronger than any other single servant by the stories Shiro had told me. When it was over Gilgamesh had earned some sort of permanent form…until the fifth war, when he tried to destroy much of the world again and Shiro and…well Shiro again as a spirit in the future? That part of the story had always been a bit confusing, the intimate and not intimate relationship my grandmother sort of did and didn't have with Shiro. I often avoided thinking too much about it. Either way, grandfather needed two of himself to put Gilgamesh down, throwing his spirit into the grail's darkness until he was absorbed.

I set stones around the bones in the circle, they were magical, strong, many of them were left to me by my grandmother but some I'd forged myself…all of them the same gold color. Perhaps the color wouldn't mean anything, but I didn't know and if even the smallest detail could call the spirit I wanted then I would do it. Grandmother had written at length about what she thought had gone wrong when she'd been trying to summon Saber and how to fix it…she'd also talked about previous cases she'd discovered where items belonging to spirits were used to call them. It was how I knew the bones would help.

The bones I'd found in Shiro's things when I was cleaning out his home after his death. There was a note to me, explaining what they were and that he'd tried to destroy them but he couldn't. He wasn't as learned as most mages and he wasn't going to seek out help to do so. If I couldn't destroy them then I should hide them and keep them away from anyone that would summon Gilgamesh back to the world. Instead, I was using them for that very purpose. I wonder if Shiro is turning in his grave watching me prepare to bring back the strongest enemy he ever fought.

It was a gift as far as I was concerned, a gift that made up for how much he never would teach me about the last war. The sixth grail war had stolen everything from me, the death of my grandmother and parents had permanently altered my life the way the fourth war had altered Shiro's. Shiro had chosen peace when he could…but that wasn't me, I wasn't his daughter, I'd only been adopted. I knew all the things he preached, but they didn't resonate with me. I was a Tohsaka, and I would fight until the bitter end to redeem my family name.

Grandmother, Father, Mother…my older brother…they had all been killed in the attacks. I was only here because I was trained in my brother's place. I only escaped death because another sorcerer family, the Makiri hoping to take me in, used magic to heal me. I was taken in by Shiro instead, he stated the sort of magic the Makiri used would have harmed me. Later I learned it didn't quite work that way but I feel slightly indebted to them all the same. Instead I grew up with Shiro because he and Grandmother had been friends when they were my age. He'd told me the only reason he was willing to teach me about the wars was because he wanted to make sure I understood fully what they meant. He wanted me to avoid participating in them at all costs. I had been too young during the sixth war to be called upon by the grail…and despite it having been less than twenty years it is happening again. This time…I plan to be involved. I know Shiro would tell me I shouldn't do this, that it was madness…

But now, he was gone too…

Last summer…the cancer finally took him. He outlived most of the people he'd known, I think he only held on these last few years for me. I was the daughter he could never have with Saber…apparently, she'd been lovely…but the sixth war had stolen her as well. If I could keep casualties to a minimum before I won this war, it would be best. I wanted to fight, but I didn't want it to be senseless, I wanted to wipe out the competition before they knew I was here. I already had a good idea where the other Masters would be, at least three of them. I knew enough of the families that were often called on…I could remove them before they were of consequence. Particularly if I had the servant I wanted…

I glanced over the circle again, I'd all but covered it in gold, magical jewels filled with mana, and expensive treasures the likes of which even the King of Heroes should be impressed with. It was shimmering like a dragon's personal vault, all around the very bones that had once been cut free from Gilgamesh. If I didn't summon him, then there was no chance to do so anymore…but I had to. He was the best chance I had to obliterate my competition.

Gilgamesh hadn't been involved in the sixth war. I knew that much, despite records placing him in almost every grail war except the second, he was not on the roster for the last. I knew from Shiro and my other research that he was difficult to control…but I had something I wanted…the same thing my grandfather wanted. We were the ones that created the Holy Grail War, my ancestors had forged it with their hands. If I followed grandfather's original path, if I could find Akasha, I could return everything that had been lost. I could fix everything through the power attainable at the root of magic. I could get my family back not just its prestige, but I could see them again…all of them. It wasn't as though there was much left for me here, what was the point of coveting a life of my own when I had no one I loved to share it with? I'd much rather return my family than be concerned with my own life.

The clock was nearly there, 2AM. I walked to the center of the circle, careful not to disturb the treasures within, I'd left just enough space to stand comfortable. I glanced at my hands before nodding to myself. It was too late to back out now. I raised my hand over my head, calling mana to the surface of my body, altering the flow so it curled into the lines and archaic runes of writing, driving it to glow green as it greedily absorbed the gold, gems, and treasures. The illumination grew, changing to a fiery orange as I started the incantation.

"Heed my words. My will creates your body, and your sword creates my destiny." I felt my hair pick up as winds curled out from around me. Papers rustled on the desk nearby and even the bones began to glow with the circle. That had to be a good sign but I couldn't let myself rejoice, if I grew distracted then the spell could go out of control. "If you heed the Grail's call and obey my will and reason, then answer me."

The light had grown more fine, seeming almost to come from the lines of the circle and the bones like a flashlight encircling me. "I hereby swear…that I shall be all the good in the world. That I shall defeat all evil in the world."

The glow altered again, growing more fine, turning the golden color I hoped my Servant would be, shimmering like molten metal around me as I poured more mana into the spell. "Thou, the seven days clad in the Great Trinity, come forth from the circle of binding. King of Heroes!"

Steam poured out from the circle, filling the basement with mist and throwing back furniture from the center of the room. Whatever I'd summoned, it was powerful enough to cause the earth to quake beneath me, I couldn't really see however, just feel the shaking. I held my ground, not wanting to disturb the summoning by moving as I felt my mana still being pulled on. Then I realized it wasn't just my mana, there was something pulling at my leg…in the mist it was hard to make out but I saw a white-knuckle bone just before the glimmer of auric dust and flesh covered it.

I stared, shocked by the change. Thankfully the spell was already complete because this had destroyed my focus. A second hand formed on my shirt, dragging it downward as more of a body formed before my eyes. I was certain by the golden hair, the crimson eyes, that this was the Servant I wanted, but why did he seem to be using me to haul himself out of the ground itself? I opened my mouth to ask him what was happening but he stopped any words from coming out as his lips pressed into mine.

My eyes widened…

 ** _End Chapter_**

Well then, that was hopefully unexpected. I thought about what might be an interesting way to continue after the events of UBW but with some new characters thrown in the mix. Not sure what else I'll be using but the focus on this fic will be on Rin's granddaughter who summoned Gilgamesh (not yet named here) and Gilgamesh. Don't worry, there are reasons forthcoming for that last action XD.

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

Well, when I get reviewers I'll say something. Otherwise, thanks in advance for anyone that leaves any kind words. I didn't have anything else to lose to the war…nothing that I truly cared about.


	2. Nova

**Chapter Two:** **_Nova_**

 _"Now…this picture from me fades, from steel's cold hand there's no refrain. In this universe, so vast. No moment was made to last. So light the fire in me."_

 ** _-VNV Nation Lyrics, Nova_**

 _The void cracked…_

 _Emptiness altered with nothing more than a small glimmer, a series of glimmers then, light catching in a broken golden mirror shimmering in the distance. The words, they were equally obscure, but the noise was so much more than quiet even if it was impossible to make out. When one was in complete isolation for countless years what was there to do but grasp the only thing that stood out as difference. The light burned after years in darkness, the sound was almost deafening, but the loud pain was preferable to the nothingness of the silence. The clothing, it was harsh beneath my fingers, but it was real…and if it had been a bed of thorns I still would have used it to crawl out of the void. There was no physical suffering that wasn't a relief next to the misery. The strength was returning, the sense of reality…I was more than just a speck floating in mire…I was a king._

 ** _I am -the- King._**

 _The memories were snapping back into place as my second hand formed, the girl that had summoned me looked terrified, reasonable since I was using her as a grip to climb. I may have been gone from the world but I wasn't forgotten, there was recognition in those green eyes. She knew me, she knew the terror I could insight. Those eyes were all the tribute I needed in that moment. The girl returned form to me with her call, and heed it I would. Mongrel or not, I owed her a debt…_

 _My entire body ached, my spirit was still drained, my mana being pulled away even as I tore myself toward the exit of this void at her summons. It wasn't enough, part of me was still trapped, the holy grails darkness knew no end to its hunger and I required energy if I was going to escape intact. The woman's shock had ended her spell, but there were other methods to gain mana from ones Master. Perhaps she isn't the godly beauties I am accustomed to but beggars can't be choosers. I grabbed behind her neck and brought us together, pressing my lips into hers to draw mana from her, to open her mana circuits and tie them into mine. She pushed me away after a moment of shock, but it had been enough…I'd escaped the grail's prison. I was whole again…_

He was warm, warmer than I expected considering I didn't know what was happening here. All of my research and all of the information available on Servant summoning's stated they appeared in the circle, not crawled out of it…why had he kissed me? I felt the drain on my power, the heat of him connecting our magical circuits…I shoved him away before he could continue. That hurt! I winced as I stared at him…tearing open magical circuits like that…it was like shocking ones nervous system directly. How the hell could he even know how to do that? Weren't Masters the mages and Servants just spirits?

I stared at him in shock as he was standing nearby laughing. I had basically been branded by him and he was chuckling away as if he'd heard the world's best joke, how on earth was this funny exactly? I scowled at his mirth, still blushing at his actions…all I could manage to stutter out was one word. "P..pe…pervert!"

"No need for that expression." He stated jubilantly, gold dust swirling around him as the armor he'd crawled out of the circle with changed to a black and white outfit, a short jacket, white shirt, and black pants, simple considering who it was in front of me. "You might be the most useful mongrel I've come across but I still won't tolerate disrespect."

…

"Excuse me?" I snapped, I'd always had a bad temper. Something else I'd been told I'd gotten from my grandmother. "I am the Master here…you will lis…. don't ever kiss me again."

I managed to reign in my temper, snapping at him wouldn't work with what I knew about Gilgamesh but I couldn't help but mutter that last part. It didn't have a lot of feeling, I refused to use a seal on such a simple order. He wouldn't react to me just ordering him at all, he certainly wouldn't do what I wanted if I didn't make him feel like he had a reason for it. I had to be more careful with this. But just, now that I had the Servant I wanted, the most powerful Servant there was to summon…just what did I say to him?

"A bit shabby, isn't it?" He remarked about my semi-destroyed basement. The ground was cracked and there was a small hole in the center of the circle, as if he'd just crawled out of my basement floor…which might have sort of happened I guess? Not creepy at all. I frowned at his insulting observations. "An imperfect summoning but considering the circumstances I'll forgive these surroundings. This building is familiar…"

"It should be." I stated, hoping the blush was off my face now as I addressed the gold King. "This is the Tohsaka mansion, it's undergone a few changes but…"

"Another Tohsaka?" He started laughing again and I stalked forward, calling on a spell that barely cut across his cheek before he'd gotten out of the way. "Do not insult my great-grandfather!"

"Eh? He would have died before you were born, what is it to you that I found him dull." Gilgamesh asked. I balled my fist…was it really going to always be like this? I already wanted to kill my Servant more than I wanted to use him. I had to try and calm down.

"He was still my family, I won't let you speak ill of hi…"

My words were cut short, his hand was over my mouth before I'd seen him move. Or had he just been here? He'd seemed almost to teleport, golden dust still in the air from his relocation. I stared in shock at him as he watched me more seriously for the first time, his eyes matching the blood that was coming to the surface of the cut my spell had left. He watched me quietly though, as if weighing what he would do to me. I really had to start thinking before just attacking all-powerful insane spirits…

There was still blood starting to bubble to the surface on his cheek where my spell had cut him.

"For your service to me, I'll acquiesce to your petition, and I'll allow you your moment of vulgar defiance, consider yourself blessed for any other that would injure me would be reduced to nothing. However, much of my debt to you is now paid." He stated with a calm confidence that made me swallow nervously. He was completely serious, he would kill me if I cut him ever again. I couldn't exactly answer but he seemed to take the fear that was probably clear on my face as agreement. He stood me up with a gentle touch I didn't expect after how gruffly he'd clasped my face, I took a deep breath.

"Debt?" I asked, curiously. He considered himself indebted to me? Why?

"What is your name?" He not only didn't answer me, he brushed right past that I even had asked a question at all.

"Natsuki Tohsaka." I answered honestly. "If you feel you owe me anything, then win this grail war for me."

"Then you can sacrifice me to the grail?" Gilgamesh shook his head. "That seems unwise."

I furrowed my brow at him. Shiro never stated Gilgamesh was aware of how the grail war ended. Still, a slightly powered grail was better than none. "The war doesn't have to end with your death."

"No? Do you have something else in mind? Who else are you willing to sacrifice?" He asked me seriously.

"Anyone I have to." I replied seriously. If Gilgamesh's survival was a part of me attaining my goal, then I'd have to regret that decision later. I would destroy whatever I had to destroy to get the grail.

"Your conviction surprises me. How many seals are you willing to barter away to make that deal?" Gilgamesh asked.

"I might use one but I have no reason to deal them away to you at all. I have no reason to trust you given how you treated my great-grandfather but since you consider me calling you here worthy of a debt, I'll guess that you don't really want to risk returning to wherever you were." I was pushing it I knew, but I couldn't let him just walk all over me completely.

I held my ground when he walked back close to me, leaning down to look at me. I held his gaze, I refused to be made a servant in this conversation…I might make some exceptions for how I treat him overall but not right now. I couldn't back down right now.

"Well, your fearlessness would be more admirable if it wasn't pointed at me. Though, I have to admit you are more lovely than I first thought through all the mist, perhaps I'll enjoy breaking you of that willful gaze later. All the same you aren't wrong. I'll kill whoever I must to stay here too, and for all your dedication I expect you don't want me drawing mana from others souls." Gilgamesh returned just as much less of a subtle threat than my words had been. He looked amused, as if this conversation was greatly entertaining him as opposed to insulting him.

"Then we'll agree that you remain my Servant and I your Master." I stated, annoyed at glancing away a moment when he talked about me being lovely, I hadn't expected that sort of praise from him…no matter how backward the compliment.

"Well, you are turning out to be much more interesting than your ancestor. That much is enough for now." He answered, still lingering closer than I really wanted him too. He towered over my petite height, and it wasn't just how tall he was, his power was incredible…now that our connection was evening out and some of the mystical interference from the summoning withdrawing I could feel the intensity of his strength. The power that settled around him in the air was intimidating…at first I'd thought to ask to see his abilities for myself…but I knew much about Gilgamesh and I was never as patient as I should be.

"Gilgamesh, I order you to remain loyal to me. For the length of this Grail War you will not forge any contracts to any other Masters." I hadn't wanted to use any of my seals this soon, but the fear remained in the back of my mind. What had happened to my great-grandfather, the way Gilgamesh had replaced him. From my research this order should be specific enough to work, and certainly the way the amusement dropped from his face told me he didn't like the limitation. My hand burned as the order took effect, the mana from the seal infusing us both as it faded away, along with the tattoo that represented it on my hand. It was my first night and I was already down a seal.

He glared at me quietly a moment, and I swallowed. Not sure if that had been a misstep, but he didn't attack me…perhaps my word choice was good…I had told him to remain loyal for part of it after all…though that would not be nearly as effective as the smaller order. Still, he didn't reach for any weapons and I didn't see any gates opening with light to throw them at me. That was a plus.

"I take that back, you are rather addled and wasteful in your paranoia mongrel. As though I would go back on my word. I hope the upstairs is less unkempt." He started up the stairs, clearly displeased with me but dismissing me to instead look around the house though he should already know it well. I waited until he was up the steps to let myself stumble to a chair. I'd just survived my first meeting with my Servant, had great-grandfather been this unnerved when he commanded the King of Heroes? Had I made a mistake bringing him back, or agreeing to keep him alive? I let out a breath and rubbed my face, would I survive the war this way?

 ** _End Chapter_**

Bit. Off. More. Than. You. Can. Chew. – Gilgamesh as a Servant in general lol. There should be some more fluff next chapter. Eventually there will be action too but so far I'm enjoying this too much XD

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

Nothing yet. Placeholder?


	3. Glad You Came

**Chapter Three:** **_Glad You Came_**

 _"You cast a spell on me, spell on me. You hit me like the sky fell on me, fell on me. And I decided that you look well on me, well on me. So, let's go somewhere no one else can see, you and me…"_

 **-The Wanted Lyrics,** ** _Glad You Came_**

 _The void hadn't broken me, nothing was truly capable of that…but I felt bent, a new and wholly undesirable feeling._

 _I laughed a little, my life…and death…were so absurd, considering how much I'd pushed away the concept of surpassing mortality even while partly being a god. It had been a false prize I'd chased all those years ago, and while it still lingered in my vault it did me little good. The herbs I'd taken from the underworld couldn't grant me eternal life. I'd given up on it centuries ago…but now. Now I was tempted to find a new path to immortality…for I had been both correct and not about death being the reason to enjoy life. Now that I'd experienced the void I never intended to again…I had an appreciation for all my indulgences, but also for many new small pieces of the world…that I never would have had before my demise. Death had made me appreciate life more fully, just never as I expected it would…_

I was being magnanimous letting her off with so little punishment after her insults failed to cease. I hadn't had a female Servant since the early wars and that one had known me too, but she had been reverent toward me, where this one was spoiled by the modern society I had grown to despise during the last war. All the same, a poor, purposeless society was better than none at all. That much I'd learned from my time imprisoned by the grail. The filthy symbol of humanity's mortal decay had thought to trap me? It was a pity Arturia hadn't destroyed it in the fourth war. I certainly wasn't all that impressed with it…and it didn't seem as if it wanted to release me this time, so what was the game?

What was the grail planning if it had let me out to participate with this woman…or had it let me out at all? It certainly didn't feel like it at the time but the best enemies stayed unknown until it was too late. Here I'd called the girl paranoid but I was far from comfortable with my own position. I hadn't even teleported up the stairs, I'd walked up them like any common mongrel would…just for the sake of feeling the steps beneath my feet, hearing the creaks of the old wood to my weight. The reflections of my presence…I hated how weak I felt for needing to have those moments. I had always considered myself a master of all possible indulgences but now even tiny motions, sounds, or feelings I held a new appreciation for. The smoothness of the marble counter in the kitchen where I'd finished my wandering of the Tohsaka estate I felt beneath my fingers as I considered what was in the fridge nearby.

Of course, my escape hadn't come without strings of its own. I was left with the ingrate mongrel, whose petty selfish behavior I stomached in part because of what she was already at least partially aware of. My escape from the void of the grail wasn't something I wished to see come to an end. Whatever aid I was to her in this war, I was far from willing for it to mean my death….and neither would I herald my own departure from a physical body by killing my tether to this world, which she served as. For all my bravado, she had me in a undesirable position, much more than I was keen to admit…still it was better than the alternative.

She had taken a few moments to compose herself after I'd threatened her in the basement. Her expression was carefully neutral as she climbed the stairs and entered the kitchen after me. So far, I appeared to be cowing her in a limited way, just as well as I didn't wish to kill her and I couldn't say how well my temper would hold up if she continued her disrespectful behavior. I frowned at her, closing the fridge again. "Don't you have any edible cuisine in this household?"

"Everything in the fridge is fresh, I just went to the farmers market this morning. If you don't want to make something the third shelf down has some leftovers from yesterday." She replied, her voice harsher than it should be addressing me. Though being addressed at all, even rudely, was still enjoyable compared to only a few minutes before.

"Do not imply I would consume something you previously cast aside. If the food is fresh, make something." I closed the device, there was a clock on the front along with a few other numbers. The modern world still had various machines that were impressive enough. I slid onto a stool, my fingers still curling along the smooth marble of the countertop…as much as the Tohsaka family could be boorish I enjoyed this particular detail.

"It's two in the morning." She replied, staring at me as though her observation of the time would mean something.

"A stew would be preferable, though I can't expect you to know the ingredients I prefer." I answered her, returning to the refrigerator to start picking out vegetables. I had to admit, despite my first impression of nothing being ready, she did have a fair variety. I laid out four things by the time she walked over and set her hand on mine. I'd been adding a small bag of mushrooms to the pile but she had interrupted me.

"I can't make a stew, I have a class for college in the morning. I'm already up late but I wanted to use the full moon and the best hour to complete the summoning." She explained, she had begun to reach past me to return the food I'd taken out back to its shelves. "Besides, legendary spirits don't need to eat, you get your sustenance from my mana. If you really want a stew, I'll make it for you tomorrow when my classes are over."

Eventually, the novelty of her blunt behavior would pass, but the fact she was trying to keep me content in her own insignificant way, regardless of the lack of success, still meant something. At the same time, she was clearly trying not to lose her temper again, to a point her mutedly respectful frustration was enjoyable enough. While I had felt a flicker of annoyance for her refusal, she'd been quick enough to follow with agreeing to do it later that I let my mind flicker to a new form of entertainment. She was right after all, while I could enjoy the flavors and experience of mortal cuisine, I got much more from her mana.

I let her get the last ingredient back inside the fridge before leaning down to her, pulling her hair, fluid and feathery, to the side to draw my teeth over the back of her neck lightly. Perhaps it was simply because I'd been so long without any source to pull mana but she smelled sweet, like an orchard in bloom the energy seemed to be infused in her. Her skin was supple, still young and with the slight taste of salt on her skin.

Speaking of her skin, she nearly leapt out of it at my motion but I'd moved fast enough not to be headbutted by her inelegant jerk as she twisted around, looking a bit like a trapped dear as she glanced at my arms on either side of her and them back to my face. All that bravado yet her cheeks bloomed readily enough at my advance. I let a smile crack my lips at the realization. I hadn't thought most mortals waited this long to partake of the flesh in this age. Perhaps she was going to be a more enjoyable Master than I first thought she would be.

"Wh…what are you doing?!" She kept her voice even enough but the stutter gave away her nervousness. Yes, I could forge her into something entertaining…

"You did say I couldn't kiss you, and I agreed. A regrettable restriction but not one that makes our contact either impossible or disagreeable, besides you can always decide to lift that particular ban or just do it yourself." I leaned closer to her, as if I were going to disregard what I'd just said, our mouths close enough that I could feel her breath on my lips. Her eyes were still wide, she blinked a few times at me before putting her arms up to push me away.

"T.t. 's not funny! You can stay in whatever bedroom you want. I'm going to go shower and try and get a few minutes sleep before school. Stay here and out of trouble." She half shrieked out some of her words as I backed away at her push, frowning at her, must she sound like a strangled harpy? She all but fled from the kitchen, my laughter echoing behind her retreat. Then, I suppose it was only natural for an untouched woman to react so strongly. It was expected for her to be concerned with her own lack of experience.

While it was true she was no goddess, she was attractive enough and her high-spirited replies fell in well enough to what I enjoyed. I picked up a plum from her stocked kitchen and walked after her, enjoying the flavor after I bit in, wiping the juice from where it leaked down around my mouth. All of this, it was better than I remembered, and I planned to partake of every vice, to include my Master…the closer I was to her the more of her mana I could absorb and why not do it in the liveliest manner possible?

It wasn't difficult to follow her to her room, she was already in the adjoining bathroom and while it wasn't my usual accommodations it would suffice. I glanced over her desk, it was littered with scrolls and papers, books and other information, all of it related to me. She'd studied me specifically, and had wanted to summon me specifically. At least she knew who best to rely on for a win in the grail war, that was wise. She had a lot of power, though I was still a bit addled after waking from the void I would say she had more power than her great-grandfather, certainly she was already turning out to be more interesting. She had her grandmother's eyes but her hair and features weren't the same, but I didn't see any photographs to give any indication where the other changes had come from. She spoke so highly of family she never could have met but I didn't see pictures anywhere here, only in the halls outside. I glanced to the bathroom when I heard singing, it wasn't horrible but neither would I hire her to entertain. An odd habit but at least she wasn't still howling like a banshee…my name on one of the notes caught my eye, it was modern handwriting, by the various papers I would guess it was hers. It was some sort of journal, I pushed another piece of paper off to pick it up and read it.

 _I'll be trying the summoning tomorrow. I spent a fortune on the items to put in the circle though I can't know for certain it will help I expect it does by my research. Gilgamesh may not be a Servant that listens well, but he is unarguably the strongest. Perhaps he's faced defeat in the past but only under extreme circumstances, my studies of the grail wars place him as the strongest of all the legendary spirits, even Shiro though I know he'd hate me for saying so, I must have the strongest. If I can get Gilgamesh, regardless of if he's difficult to deal with, I can win. I should try and sleep now though, tomorrow I doubt I'll have time for much._

I perked a brow. She knew the boy that had pushed me into the void and she'd called me here regardless? She knew more about me than I first expected just glancing over her desk. I set her journal back down and moved to sit on the edge of her bed. She'd known I'd tried to destroy so much of humanity during my last war. She spoke of me being here as an acceptable risk to earn her goal. Of course, she was right, I was the strongest of any legendary spirit but it made me curious all the same. Just what could she desire from the grail to bring me forward despite finding me so threatening?

"What are you doing here?" She asked, frowning when she started to come out of her bathroom with a towel wrapped around her and one still on her head tangled into her hair. Steam raising the temperature in the room slightly as the warmer bathroom air mingled into the cooler air of her bedroom.

"You said I could pick any bedroom, why not the one suitable to the master of the house? You should be honored that I would rest in your bed." I reasoned, it was amusing watching her eyebrow twitch slightly as she seemed to try and decide how to respond.

"You don't even actually need a bed, I was just being nice." She stated after a moment, frowning at me. "Get out of my room so I can get my pajamas on."

"Feel free to change. I am not stopping you." I smirked at her scowl, watching her stalk up to move past me and get the clothes she'd laid out. I pulled the towel away from her, amused at the way she ducked behind the bed. "Is this a new method of dressing in this era?"

"You aren't funny." She snapped, I disagreed, I was finding our interactions quite entertaining. "Why are you like this?"

"Are you ashamed of yourself? Not a perfect form, but your body is sufficient." I graciously complimented as she pulled the arms of the shirt on while still ducking on the opposite side of the bed. I didn't need to try and look, I'd see it all eventually. When I wished to, I'd look on her like any other article in my vault. For now, her embarrassment served a jester's role well enough. I laughed when she realized I'd moved the pants part of her planned outfit. "You need not stare with me in menace, while your excitability is humorous, it is growing predictable."

"Giv…" She seemed to think better of making a demand, it was all too easy to trick some Masters into using their seals after all. Instead she rerouted her intent. "What do you want?"

"Mana." I had no reason to lie to her. "Despite claiming you need to rest you are awake enough and I can feel your spiritual aptitude as well as your capacity, you still have much power you didn't use in the summoning. Augmented by stones I'd expect from what I know of the Tohsaka family."

"Okay, well, you seem like your fine…why do you need more mana now? We aren't fighting anyone yet? Can't we discuss this while I'm wearing pants?" I tossed her the clothing, losing interest in the game now that she was finally speaking with me of it.

"No, but as I am now I couldn't summon my Noble Phantasm if I required it." I answered, amused she stayed on the floor to slip on her garments out of my sight. "I dislike that separation."

"No offense," A good way to start a conversation for one as rude as she, at least she was starting to learn. I glanced to her as she got up and sat next to me on the bed. The pajama's as she called them, did little for her potential but she appeared cozy in the pink fabric. "but you feel pretty strong to me, stronger than anything I've sensed before. I don't want to drain all my mana and be unable to defend myself if I'm attacked."

"I've already told you I'd take the war for you, your continued paranoia is fatuous." I shook my head at her. "This is not preferable for me, I dislike being in a state where I am weaker than I should be. Normally, the more we connect physically the more mana I can draw from you."

I let a pause hang as her face grew red again and she seemed unable to even give voice to the protests obviously forming in her mind. "However, your embarrassment is reasonable, after all, what hope could you have of finding someone else if you lay with me. I'd rather compromise."

…

"O…kay." She stated in hesitant curiosity for what I planned to offer.

"At least until my mana is back to a normal level I'd like to sleep next to you, flesh to flesh is the best method by which to draw power." I remarked, amused that she continued to grow more red over time. She was quite innocent for all her willfulness. She was silent for a while after I made the offer then finally nodded silently…

"No funny business." She stated seriously, amusing enough. It had been many years since I'd indulged the flesh so I wasn't making promises. I was gone a moment later, reforming beneath the blankets without my clothes in a flourish of gold specks that were fading away. It appeared that a frown was her natural state. She shook her head at me.

"If you are so concerned with power, why are you wasting it? Doesn't it cost you more to maintain a physical body and move about like that?" She asked, glancing at me, then to the bed next to me before heading to turn off the light first.

"Minor tricks that cost little." I answered. "Besides, if I'm in contact with you, it draws almost no power at all to maintain my form."

 **End Chapter**

Ahaha, Poor Natsumi, having a Servant is not going the way she expected at all. I hope Gilgamesh is fittingly haughty.

 _-Aura_

 _Holix25_ – Glad you like it. I agree, Fate as a universe isn't really kind 99/100 times. Still, I tend toward slightly happier/more amusing times I think than most authors?

 _Anthem_ – Me too to be honest with you. I have only a skeleton of an idea and I'm filling in a lot as I go chapter to chapter.


	4. Deer in the Headlights

**Chapter Four:** **_Deer in the Headlights_**

 _"Tell me again, was it love at first sight? When I walked by and you caught my eye. Didn't you know love could shine this bright? Well smile because you're the deer in the headlights."_

 **-Owl City Lyrics,** ** _Deer in the Headlights_**

 _I pulled her close and wrapped my arm around her, my mongrel. Her muscles were tense and she was obviously not thinking about sleep but I didn't particularly mind. This for now, was enough, her soft skin warm against my own, her body's hairs standing on end with the right movement of my hand against her flesh. Tempting but all the same…some of the best indulgences came from being tantalized to the point of torment. Her aroma was that of pears during the harvest, it reminded me of gardens in Babylon. Stronger now that I had her close enough that I could nuzzle into her hair…eventually she would relax, and I was more than content with the mana I could draw from our contact._

 **Natsumi -**

I was never going to get any sleep. Dammit, I can't believe I agreed to this. This was not just embarrassing but uncomfortable. Why was he so warm anyway? It wasn't like this was the summer, it was usually a bit cool in my room…that's why there were so many blankets…but he was like a damn heater pressed right up against my back. Ugh. Was it because as a spirit he was from the desert? Was the temperature of Babylon shining through his skin? What was I supposed to do exactly? I'd already agreed to let him draw mana, but did he have to keep caressing me to get it? Sure, he said he needed contact but what sort of contact did he need exactly? I knew if I complained he would probably either justify it off or get angry at me.

I couldn't get comfortable either, my whole body was rigid from our close contact. I didn't really like being that close to other people, and while he didn't really fit the traditional definition of a person he was close enough that it wasn't pleasant. I wasn't really uncomfortable with the position he'd pulled me into, as much as I hated to admit it having his arm over me did make me feel a little more secure if another of the Master's happened to attack tonight…but this was sweltering, I was sure I'd start sweating if he kept this up. Then again…his nose in my hair and breath on the back of my neck wasn't really helping either when mixed with the touches of his hand, it was like he was exploring my side and leg…and he'd kept his hand away from my most intimate areas but this was far from what a simply friendly embrace should be.

"Can you stop that?" I finally stated after a few minutes, my body and neck in particular was starting to ache since I couldn't quite relax. "I get that you want some mana but I can't sleep with you feeling me up."

"I could wear you out." He offered, as if he were being generous. I shook my head negatively, knowing he could feel it given how close he was.

"I said I need sleep, not…that." I answered. I didn't want to offend him by outright refusing but this was already uncomfortable, and while I'd read about Servants and Masters engaging in intimacy to transfer mana quickly I didn't really want to join the ranks. I couldn't argue that he was a beautiful creature, but I wanted to keep a clear head when it came time to make decisions and I expect snogging your Servant would make it a bit more difficult to command them in battle.

"If you wish to sleep, relaxing would probably be a good first step." He pointed out, and dark or not, I knew there was a smile on his stupid handsome face by his tone. Jerk. At least he'd stopped drifting his hand over my thigh and brought it to rest instead, that helped. I refused to let him get the best of me…I forced my body to let go of some of the tension as I let out a breath in a shaky sigh. He better absorb whatever mana he needed fast cause this wasn't going on tomorrow.

I doubt I would have passed out if it wasn't for several factors. The day had been long and there were some unpleasant details I hadn't guessed or could have really known about my Servant being part exhibitionist. Yet, with our contact he was also draining the mana I did have, that helped since the lack of energy made it easier to eventually give into sleep likely what was only an hour or two before I had to wake for class.

Sleep was more eventful than I thought, images of days long past filtered through my mind. A golden throne on a stone dias, a tropical dessert city decorated with rich paints and symbols that looked Egyptian. It was just flashes though, images here or there, platters of fruit, gold, riches presented at my feet, all seen with a modicum of attention.

Unfortunately, morning came all too soon, my alarm blaring from the stand table…I had to fight to reach it, for Gilgamesh just muttered what I was certain was some sort of insult and held me tighter when I went to move. I felt dizzy, certainly disoriented, and still foggy from sleep as I managed to hit the snooze button just before he pulled me closer again. Clingy much? What were those images? Some Masters could have dreams of their Servants but from my reports such dreams were rare at first. Was it because we'd been in such close contact?

"Gilgamesh…" I hissed when he put one of his legs over mine to keep me in place. "I have to go to class!"

"Skip." He murmured in my ear, his voice still thick with tired. Had he kept physical form and slept? Did spirits need to do that? I hadn't seen that in my research. Or was he as weakened as he'd claimed? Either way, I was tempted to listen to him…I was exhausted myself but I couldn't do that, someone would note something amiss. I never missed class.

"I can't…I have a test." I remarked, thankfully that wasn't a lie…though I didn't feel very prepared for it. He did let me go at the remark, so I suppose that was good, but as soon as I stood up I sat down again…the room was spinning. How much energy had he taken from me? I took a deep breath; this weakness wasn't just a lack of rest.

"If you don't sleep you won't rejuvenate mana." He pointed out from where he hadn't budged in my bed. He hadn't even opened his eyes to look at me, he seemed as though he planned to just continue sleeping in my absence. I frowned at him, that was becoming a common habit.

"If you hadn't spent the night draining my mana I wouldn't need to." I retorted, a bit irritated with how much he'd taken from me. I would recover if I got some food and rest but I only had time for one of those so I'd have to make due. Perhaps by willpower alone, I got to my closet and went inside, I'd rather change there out of his view. Normally I'd lay things out on the bed but I didn't trust him not to take them so I kept to my closet. At least the dizziness was starting to pass…and my teachers had always told me I had a lot of mana so hopefully it would regenerate swiftly enough. I got on my uniform and headed to the bathroom to brush my hair. "You could get up and do something useful, like get dressed or make breakfast."

"I am not a servant in that manner." He remarked, still not moving. I expect he would have gotten offended if he wasn't so busy being comfortable in my bed. I looked back to my mirror so I could put my hair up, I usually tied it back so it was out of my face when I went out. I didn't do anything that fancy with it or have multiple tails like my grandmother used to. I liked sleep too much to allot time for that.

"Then couldn't you not physically manifest. Doesn't that cost energy when I'm not next to you?" I asked. "I'm already feeling a bit dazed since you had to vampire so much last night."

"I'll manifest or not as I prefer to." He answered, his voice getting a bit harsher as I continued to prod him. Though he still hadn't opened his eyes. Lazy selfish jerk. I amended my previous insult even if I kept it to myself. I suppose I'd have to make due, I would make due, he would make all this frustration worth it when he started taking down the other Servants.

"Fine, fine. Please stay here and rest or eat…or whatever you do when I'm not here, but I don't want anyone to suspect I've joined the war so remain here. The magic spells in place will shield other Masters from being able to sense your presence here." I left him to his rest as I headed down to the kitchen. I'd set my alarm a bit early so I could start his stew he kept on about yesterday in the slow-cooker this morning. Then I made myself some eggs. Normally I'd make myself a lunch but I'd have to buy something at the cafeteria since my extra time was spent on his stew. Sacrifices I had to make for my goal…

I gathered my bag, purse, and keys, and headed out the door, closing it behind me. It had physical locks, but spiritual protections as well. I didn't feel concerned about my house being safe, me now that I was a Master with Command Seals on my hand? That was a bit more worrisome. I knew who some of my competition were, but then, a few others had reason to suspect me. I had taken to wearing gloves years ago, to cover that physical indicator, but I was the only one of my house remaining. While I am on record that I had no plans to participate…unfortunately I still have a target based on that alone.

Then there was Gilgamesh, I'd known going in if I did summon him that dealing with him would be difficult but I was starting to feel as if it would be impossible. He was such a jerk, a lazy, selfish, egotistical, ludicrous…pervert. Knowing that sleeping next to him was helpful to him helped temper my feelings that he was a deviant, but everything else he said and did weren't points in his favor. Then, from what I knew, he'd been more tolerant of me and my temper than he was of most Masters…was it because he felt weaker than usual? Well, then I could accept the embarrassment, I had the strongest most capable Servant, so I would suffer whatever was required to attain my goal.

"Morning Natsumi." Kenji greeted, he was a friend of mine. He lived a few blocks up from me and between my walk from my house to the college. We'd walked together before sometimes. He was nice enough, but unaware of the Grail War or magic so I had to be careful. If he saw anything he shouldn't he wouldn't survive. There couldn't be witnesses to the war and there weren't exceptions made to that rule. Only participates or other mages could know or witness the battles of the war without being casualties to it.

"Morning Kenji." I returned, offering a smile I didn't feel.

"You all right? You seem drained." He said, offering concern. I expect I looked nowhere near as tired as I felt.

"I'll be fine, I was just up late studying." I replied, the lie coming smoothly enough after years of practice. At least since it was daytime I shouldn't have to worry about other Servants attacking. Any battles in the war were supposed to be limited to night hours after all. I still didn't trust people to listen to all the rules but all the same I had to pretend life was perfectly normal. I was expecting it to be easy enough. I chatted with Kenji about the strange weather and earthquake last night while we made our way to the school and said our short 'see you later'. I was looking forward to a nice average day, up until I walked into my class and saw Gilgamesh sitting there inside, chatting with the teacher from one of the desks with his black and white casual outfit on again.

What the hell was he doing? He was going to ruin everything…on second thought, he was a worthless Servant that couldn't help at all since he refused to listen to anything.

 **End Chapter**

Natsumi is just not having a great time. Not even 24 hours into having her servant and she's pondered what his issues are at least a dozen times lol. She's like 'nm, this was a fucking horrible plan'.

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

Anthem – Gilgamesh is an ass but we all love him anyway. I enjoyed having him basically tell Natsumi to: 'make me a sammich woman'. Hahaha.


	5. I Will Not Bow

**Chapter Five:** ** _I Will Not Bow_**

 _"Now the dark begins to rise. Save your breath, it's far from over. Leave the lost and dead behind. Now's your chance to run for cover."_

 **-Breaking Benjamin Lyrics,** ** _I Will Not Bow_**

 _Why did mortals care so much about random responsibilities they placed on themselves? I suppose it did give them some sense of purpose many lacked, but this morning it was highly interruptive. I was enjoying my rest next to the woman and she had to struggle her way free, acceptable enough when she was stopping the racket but then she wanted to leave. What was the point of doing such work when she could wish for something on the grail? I could admire her ethic if it didn't leave my bed colder than I preferred it. She continued to complain, mongrels were good at yapping, no matter how nice a source of mana they could be. I refused her absurd requests and eventually she left but the silence wasn't comfortable. Even with some noises from the electronics or her moving dishes below it was a little too much quiet…I didn't like it. I sighed when she left the house, the further she moved the more it would be draining to be away from her. I would have to fix that…_

 ** _Natsumi –_**

I stared in abject frustration but I couldn't cause a scene here, not when anyone else in my class could be a master. He seemed to be giving the impression he was a new student but who transferred into college classes two weeks in? Careless idiot. I did my best not to glare as I made my way to a seat, though as I watched, I realized he didn't have the extraordinary ambience he should. It felt the same as it had when I'd walked away from the manner and his power was shielded by grandmother's wards. To anyone watching him, even to Masters, he would look like any other human…how had he managed that?

Not that I minded his subtly, I just hadn't considered him capable of it. I suppose he wasn't as careless as I'd first thought, and it was logical he would have something that could cover his power. If there was anything that could hide his powers, then obviously, he would have access to it. I would have felt him before entering the room if he could be sensed. I was his Master and even I hadn't picked up that he was here, others wouldn't either unless they guessed by his appearance but pictures of previous wars weren't kept on file, just general descriptions. It would honestly be difficult for anyone to guess, though I still didn't like him being out it wasn't a battle worth fighting when I needed to try and concentrate on calculus.

Unlike most people, I enjoyed math. It was nice and exact; it didn't lie to you. Any variables could be explained with reason or had purposes and there were written methods to represent even impossible to explain answers. It was much easier than emotions and frustrations that came from dealing with people. Not that I disliked people, I didn't. I had a lot of friends but just none that were easy to be close to while knowing my fate was to eventually be called by the grail. I had a hard time dealing with people since I had to live a double life. Math, even calculus, was a welcome literal and specific part of my life where little else could be.

Apparently, despite having just arrived he was going to take the test with the rest of us? Ugh, but hopefully he wouldn't cause a scene, so far he seemed more intent on flirting with my professor. I know she was pretty young for a math professor but still…no shame in the gold king. When the guy in front of me passed me my test I took one from pile and moved the rest back. It was a welcome change of focus. I'd studied for this test and done a lot of the practice work so once I could jump into it even my tired didn't slow me down. Certainly, Calculus was like basic addition compared to having a conversation with my new Servant. My mood improved when I finished, a whole twenty minutes to spare…nice. I grinned and picked up my things, the professor always let us leave when we were done. But…where did Gilgamesh go? Well, seems he didn't plan to take this seriously, par for course with the spoiled brat. Great, now I had to go find him. I sighed as I put my paper on the others that had been turned in. I wasn't the brightest student, but I wasn't the worst, most of the class was still there when I headed out the door.

"Finally," Gilgamesh's voice announced his weariness as soon as I'd slipped out and shut the door. I scowled at him, glancing along the hall. Thankfully most people were in classes of their own. "Are you done now?"

"No."

Well, so far, he was at least a champion of making my good moods temporary.

I walked toward where my next class would be slowly, not surprised he fell into step beside me a moment later. I didn't have a lot to go off with my ancestor's description of Gilgamesh but I didn't get the impression he kept his form all the time like this. Great-grandfather had actually spoken in an entry once about how disturbing it was that he would just disappear. I had known he was difficult but I expected he would leave more…why was he following me? "Why are you here? Doesn't this all bore you?"

"Not yet at any rate, the questions were mildly challenging, it was a fair use of a few minutes of my time." He answered. Did he mean the test? I refused to believe that he'd finished that in a few minutes, jerk. Jerky jerk jerkfaced jerk of jerkdom. I knew my insults weren't creative but sometimes faced with someone like Gilgamesh I couldn't help thinking it.

"I still have another two classes today. I need to attend my mythology class here then I'll need to go and attend magic theory. You can't follow me to the mage's school so I don't know why you don't just take a break." I kept my voice low, even with no one in the halls I didn't want to risk someone accidentally eavesdropping.

"You already put yourself at risk coming here, going to the magic school, particularly without an escort…" He shook his head at me disapprovingly. "There's a difference between not being boring and being suicidal. I might normally find the choice entertaining but you are my tether here, I can't let you wander and get yourself killed."

"There's also a need for a plan. I don't want anyone to think I've summoned a legendary spirit, you already risk giving it away being here at all." I hissed back, frustrated at his now somewhat convenient 'concern' when it was just him being selfish as usual. "You can't just order me about. I'm going to my…"

He kept interrupting me when I was making statements as to the things I was going to do with myself. In the stairwell, he pulled me aside and beneath the steps where no one could see us and they'd only know we were there if they heard us. There were a few desks and other bits of furniture piled here with dust, this small area was only really used for storage. His pulling me suddenly to the side and slapping a hand over my mouth again made it tempting to use a seal on him to order him to stop doing that specifically. Though he hissed for me to be silent which made me wonder what it was he was up to. "Shhhh."

I didn't sense anything amiss but he was staring at one of the walls as if his red eyes could see through it, scanning something I couldn't make out. I rarely saw him look even a little serious so I kept myself from biting his hand as I had the urge to do. Instead trying to sense something as well, what was it he had seen that I hadn't. Wasn't I supposed to be the one with the vision as well? Servants could sense each other close range but they weren't supposed to be as good as a well-trained mage. Then again, Archer's were supposed to have vision unlike other classes, so perhaps he had something that hadn't been noted previously.

Though nothing happening was making me question that. I didn't sense absolutely anything amiss, there wasn't a single spell even active in this area other than those items I carried on my person. I couldn't sense magic from Gilgamesh at all thanks to…whatever he had that let him just turn off his spiritual signature. So then, why were we just sitting here in dust bunny central being quiet? I rolled my eyes finally and pulled his hand away which snapped his attention back to me for the first time since he'd drug me down here.

"What is wrong?" I hissed, keeping my voice down.

"There was something here." He noted, also quieter than usual. "You may not wish to be known as a Master, but I'm fairly certain you are."

"I didn't sense anything." I tried to reason. "Maybe it was just a mistake."

That, I made mental note for later, was not a word one should use when addressing Gilgamesh, he dropped me from where his body had been half propping me up on one of the desks and I scrambled to keep from falling, nearly pulling more of the furniture down on myself as I flailed. I was about to speak to him but he was vanishing, gold dust swirling into the real dust of makeshift closet. I sighed, wasn't this sort of the equivalent of someone getting pissed and hanging up on you? For a thousand years old, absurdly powerful, legendary spirit he was immature.

"Fine, be like that…I didn't want you here anyway." I hissed, in case he could still hear me. As far as I knew legendary spirits could linger invisibly when they weren't in physical form. Often nearby their Masters. So, I hoped he hear me snap at him. Intolerable blockhead. I dusted off as best I could but I certainly had gray lines on some of my clothes from his forceful relocation. At least now maybe he wouldn't try to be a new classmate in my other college class, I wasn't even sure how he'd talked his way into the first one since he didn't have any student identification.

I had hoped to spend my extra time getting a coffee but now I'd need to hurry to get to get cleaned up and then get to class, I couldn't afford to stop in the student lounge on the third floor. I passed it by to head into the bathroom, wetting one of the paper towels in hopes to remove some of the dust stains on my skirt. Why on earth was the most powerful Servant so damn infantile? I knew that in a previous war one of the Masters had bizarrely ordered his own Servant to kill itself. Now I understood it, if that Servant was anything like Gilgamesh ordering them to seppuku was incredible tempting, maybe it'd been worth it to give up their wish for it.

I got myself as presentable as I could with my limited resources and walked to my next class, a quick scan left me relieved that indeed he hadn't materialized here. I was about to head to my seat when I finally felt a change. An energy that would have been hard to make out in other circumstances…there was another spirit nearby but this one was quiet and nearly on top of me by the time I'd recognized it. Assassin? Caster? They were the only two spirits I was aware of that could sometimes hide their energy naturally…they didn't seem to have an item like Gilgamesh's…or at least if they did then it couldn't hide the feeling completely. I headed to my seat as naturally as I could. Who else in my class could be a magus? I didn't think any of the students had any mystical background.

Then, the professor came in…and the feeling grew. He had a spirit following him. It wasn't manifested, so I couldn't see it…but I could tell it was there. Shit, that golden bastard had been right. If I made it out of class, I'd have to apologize. Fights traditionally were supposed to occur at night according to the rules but Masters had broken them before. It wasn't all that common for Assassin's master to break them specifically. Professor Tamaka wasn't acting as if anything were amiss, could he not feel Gilgamesh then? So, my secret could be safe?

I scratched my hand over my glove nervously. He was wearing gloves today too, but he didn't normally wear them and he wasn't taking them off. So, he was probably covering up his own Command Seals. It was impossible to tell, but this wasn't a great position. I knew some of the Professors had some watered-down magus history but it was so far in the past I couldn't have guessed it would be my mythology professor, no matter how fitting the concept. He was a fairly basic looking man, short brown hair, brown eyes, glasses, thin, not really overly muscular but not overly pudgy. If anything, I probably would have called Professor Tamaka the most average person I knew…I wouldn't have suspected him as one of the wild card Masters at all. He went right into his lecture though, not seeming to think anything of me, so I had to act natural. Though it was hard to focus on German gods and goddesses when I was now concerned with how quickly my plans would need to move.

I now knew at least four of the seven Masters for this grail war. Obviously, myself first of all. Then I knew that Shiba Matou was probably going to be the family member descended from the 'Matou' line. The Matou's had stopped having their own line some years before, but Shiba was the oldest, descended from Sakura, and he was learned in the ways. His younger sister was only four and the youngest contestant ever chosen by the grail was during one of the early wars was a prodigy at twelve. It was obvious he would be the Matou family competitor. Then that left the Einzbern's, who would undoubtedly send one of two of their 'twin' homunculi. Right now, Adali and Uli (the twins) were my biggest threat, homunculi, even just part homunculi as they were…always had incredible strength and were all but pits of mana. Either one of them would be a difficult challenge for me as a magus but the danger was that they rarely traveled without each other. The pair of them were identical so I couldn't know which one would get the legendary spirit, or even which one was which. I did know they'd flown into this area a few days ago, so I'd hoped to hunt them out first. If I could remove them then it was bound to get easier. Now I also knew about my Professor.

I was certain he had to have an Assassin or Caster Type Servant, but I couldn't know which for sure. Then the others, I had no way of knowing what the Matou or the Einzbern's would pull from the classes. The Einzbern's had pulled Saber many times, but they'd pulled Bezerker as well. The Matou's had pulled Beserkers but also Assassins and Lancers per my studied histories but in any war, any participant, could pull any type of spirit. Most studies of the wars would label Saber class and Caster class servants as some of the strongest but I was hesitant to immediately count on that conclusion. While the war would probably label Gilgamesh as an Archer, his strength was unparalleled by any of the others. Then, there was not knowing who the different servants were, but did it matter? I highly doubted any of them could truly stand up to mine. Not if he was serious…but that was a large part of the battle, wasn't it? Keeping him serious enough to defeat the threats…

"Miss Tohsaka?" I had let myself get distracted. What had he just asked about?

"Loki I believe." I answered what I thought was right.

"Good, good." The professor moved on to another student and I let out a small sigh. A good thing I'd been paying vague attention or he would have noticed something off. I rarely got questions wrong in this class. It wasn't really that difficult for a higher level, and it would fill some of the credits I needed for upper level courses without driving me crazy. Particularly while the class was going on. I wonder if I defeated my professor if that would affect my grade? Was I a horrible person for thinking about it? I scratched my head near the base of my ponytail, it wasn't uncommon for me when I was stressed to do it and I'd done it in class before so it wasn't really a tell…but I was getting more nervous the longer I sat here in plain reach of a Servant I didn't know for sure.

Besides…was Gilgamesh right? Did these classes really matter? If I got what I wanted, then worrying about a GPA wouldn't really make the list of concerns anymore. Perhaps that was part of why it was so hard to focus, here I was looking at my Professor who'd I'd never known well but didn't seem like a bad person, and I would probably have to kill him. I knew that was part of this, but I suppose it was really hitting home that I needed to kill people to accomplish my goal…that was a sobering thought. I might want what I want, and I am willing to do what I must, but it still left a bad taste in my mouth…those people had their own dreams too and to reach mine I had to use the destruction of theirs as stepping stones.

I could at least agree with Shiro that the Grail War was a cruel creation. When the professor finished, he assigned us some reading and a paper due in two weeks, I wrote all the information down and left at as steady a pace as I could…though the feeling of something else there never left me. It felt like something was breathing down the back of my neck as I headed away from the class. I had the urge to run but I kept it in control, I couldn't have any strange behavior here. I knew about my Professor, but he might not have picked up on me yet. If I could take care of him swiftly then perhaps it wouldn't need to come to a battle between Servants.

I kept my composure leaving the room and the building well enough but when I rounded another building I paused to lean on my knees. The feeling of the thing was somewhat terrifying and it seemed to just get worse over time. What Servant did he have that could inspire that while being mostly quiet? Were there servants that just left other Masters with feelings of being watched and terror? What sort of legendary spirit would that be?

"I should kill him now." I nearly jumped out of my skin at Gilgamesh's words, he was forming next to me. One of his feet up on the wall, leaning on it as though he lacked a care in the world. I saw a few flickers of gold fading as he appeared, though even when he was actively using power to manifest I still didn't feel it, I scratched my arms, I felt so itchy. "How are you doing that?"

"Killing him? It would be easy enough…but it's not night yet." Gilgamesh remarked, watching me carefully. "Did he do something to you? You look even more haggard than earlier."

"No, I mean how can I not feel you," I re-explained my question. "No fighting at night unless someone else starts it."

"Someone else did start it," Gilgamesh remarked a bit cryptically. "You have a problem with your arms?"

He ignored my question outright, and I frowned at him but he wasn't wrong…my arms, my body…everything itched. "I just…it itches."

I felt unsteady…was I wrong…had the professor done something to me? But how could he have known? Gilgamesh sighed at the same time I noticed I was sweating…but it wasn't that warm out…I coughed a bit a moment later. I certainly felt unwell…

"You are perhaps the worst master I've had." Gilgamesh stated bluntly, leaning down to look at me. "I'm fairly certain he's poisoned you and you haven't noticed it yet? So you are a vaguely pretty mana battery with no intellect."

"But…he couldn't know…maybe I'm just sick cause you wouldn't let me get any rest." I stated, his insults weren't helping. I moved to a nearby bush to lose what I'd eaten that morning…I still felt nauseous and my stomach hurt. No, Gilgamesh was probably right…but I hadn't eaten anything…my desk then? He'd poisoned my desk specifically? What sort of contact poison made you itchy and nauseous? Why hadn't I paid closer attention in botany? My head hurt and my stomach was on fire…I sunk to my knees wondering if this was it. Was I really going to be the first Master out of the war? Gilgamesh was right, I was unprepared for this…

"Dammit…" I muttered, punching the dirt. "I don't get it…how could he know? I didn't even know he was a magus."

"Poison and deception are coward's tools, but regrettably effective on those fools enough to fall for them. Here, I'll expect payment for this. Don't drink the entire thing, a single sip should suffice." He held a small vial toward me, it wasn't large but I sensed magic in the item. I accepted it, it wasn't as though he had a reason to poison me more. I took a small drink as he suggested and handed it back, worried a moment I was about to start throwing up again, whatever it was, it hadn't tasted good. The itching and pain in my belly was already drawing back and my headache cleared. Had he just given me some sort of universal antidote? What would that cost me? Whatever it was, it'd already vanished back to whatever place he kept all his endless treasures.

"How could he know it was me? Seats aren't assigned in that room and I do change desks sometimes…but my desk was the only thing I touched." I stated with a frown. "He could have just poisoned anyone in the room instead of me. No one else looked sick though."

"Various possibilities. It could have been something that would only affect a magus and was on every desk, or he did know somehow where you would be." Gilgamesh suggested, not having leaned down to help me any further after he had offered the antidote. "Caster or Assassin would be my guess, and while it was poison, I'm leaning more toward Caster."

"All right. But now isn't the place to press a battle. Somehow they knew who I was and poisoned me during class before I even noticed it." I managed to get back to my feet but I certainly wasn't as sure about going to the magic school now that at least one opponent knew who I was. After this distressingly close call I realized I couldn't be so relaxed or think myself safe. Now that the war had started any Master was at risk…I might have hoped for anonymity but I didn't have it. "Um…thank you…I'm sorry for disregarding your thoughts earlier, you were right."

"I often am." He replied with his usual confidence. "I need no excuses or apologies, attempt to be less pathetic in the future. While your fumbling inability is comical your life is tied to mine here, represent yourself with more dignity and attempt to defend yourself so such needless wastes don't happen again."

…

I did my best not to frown at him like I wanted to. As annoying as he was any time he opened his mouth I had basically just been saved by him. It had been effortless and self-serving on his end, but it was a rescue all the same. I suppose honestly, I didn't mind as much his observations since this time I was still chiding myself for being so careless. If I had any other Servant would I be all right? Or would the poison have killed me?

"I'll do better." I said instead. I meant it, I wasn't going to tolerate this. "Can your item that stops your power from being visible work for me as well?"

"Assuming I wished to extend it over a mongrel." He replied.

"Okay…well, perhaps we should wait for them…I've seen him returning to his car before…he normally stays over to grade things…and there were things to grade in his pile." I answered, considering where we could best wait.

"We need not wait until then," Gilgamesh answered. "I see no reason to sully ourselves with his weak tactics."

"Too many witnesses now." I said, earning a roll of his eyes. "I know you don't approve, but if you'll wait until evening, the campus will clear, no one wants to stay later than they have to. Then you can attack him…the building he's in doesn't have any of the usual student facilities so it shouldn't leave witnesses with you."

"A matter of hours all the same," Gilgamesh replied, glancing back toward the upper story of the building I'd left earlier. "Better if I finish it now, your chance at anonymity is already over after all. No need to fear anything, if you wish to remain here out of sight, do so."

"Wait…" I didn't get the word out before he'd vanished, I felt his power very clearly a moment later. …. Shit…shit shit shit…I could see golden light shining out of the room where my class took place. I took off running for the building as I felt a second energy grow to meet the first. He really was just going to attack in the middle of the day on a floor where students still had classes? Idiot!

 ** _End Chapter_**

Gilgamesh doesn't like waiting. LOL

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

 _Holix25_ \- Well being reduced to nothingness for a few decades was the only thing I could think of that might humble Gilgamesh, if only a little.


	6. Feel Invincible

**Chapter Six:** **_Feel Invincible_**

 ** _"Who can touch me 'cause I'm, I'm made of fire. Who can stop me tonight, I'm hard wired. You make me feel invincible."_**

 **-Skillet Lyrics,** ** _Feel Invincible_**

 _I have poor luck with the people that summon me. Certainly I am glad to escape the void but must my 'Master' be so pathetic? In the past if I didn't like my 'Master' then I would manipulate myself someone more worthy, or at the least more entertaining. That wasn't an option this time, for someone so careless she could be frustratingly clever. Her use of her first Command Seal had stopped me from that option entirely. Then, it could be worse, at least she wasn't a carbon copy of Tokiomi._

 _Natsumi might be more interesting than her ancestor but she lacked his greater capacity for planning. Her actions were artless, I expected more personal security from a member of the Tohsaka family. Letting herself get poisoned by another participant in the war? Sloppy and weak. In any other war I probably would have let it kill her, but where I once would have returned to the Throne of Heroes…now I wasn't sure. Would I simply return to the void? I couldn't have that._

 _I'd given her one of my many treasures, likely worth more than her estate no matter how rich her family name. She'd owe me for the favor but I had a reason to win the war beyond returning the grail to my vault in this war. I had grown to enjoy having a physical body and I wanted it back. The swiftest way to assure that was to finish every other Servant and start to fill the cursed cup. There was one readily available to us, there was no reason to wait no matter the whines of my mongrel._

 ** _Gilgamesh –_**

It was simple enough. Relocating myself from one place to another, this classroom looked the same as any other in this modern world. It's placement on the top floor limited the chance of witnesses. The doors shut, my blades holding them tightly so there would be no flight for the enemy Master. He'd been at his desk, looking at papers. He wasn't impressive in appearance and I couldn't sense any great amount of mana from him. Hardly a worthy opponent, but all the same I wanted this battle over with sooner rather than later. Several more weapons shot toward him at a speed that distorted the air around me. He did look up, a fearful expression coming to his face a flicker before my weapons were deflected by small mystical shields, not large, but perfectly placed to block my weapons all the same.

I smirked at the Servant that materialized, he had a long beard and goatee and wore French clothing. Why was it the Caster's always came from France? For a country that had so abhorred the occult they seemed to have many famous users of it. Apparently, just pressing a kill on the mortal wasn't going to be as easy as I'd first told the mongrel it would be, but then I had learned a lot simply by observing the Caster protect his Master.

"Withdraw from here and cease targeting my Master, our battles are to occur at night. You risk dozens of innocent lives starting a battle here." The Servant stated calmly, not looking disturbed by my presence. The behavior of others to act as though they were my equal…as if they could command me…it was growing tedious. More gates opened around me, there were dozens and certainly the mortal Master didn't look comfortable. If he knew how few these were compared to the number I could call if I wished…he'd probably die of fright but I couldn't summon them all in this small space.

"You speak strongly of the regulations while you ignore them." I stated, my armor curled along my body, it was heavier than the casual clothing I preferred. Shimmering into plates along my arms and legs, curling up my torso and pausing after forming the shoulder blades…I preferred not to wear a helmet. The Master might be weak but I didn't know what this Caster was capable of even if I could make guesses. Many more gilded circular ripples appeared around the room. One specifically flew at the mortal but it was deflected as last time. The magic was almost instant…it didn't feel like a normal noble phantasm…

A new trick, but how long could he keep such well-placed parry's up against my power? Another few spears jutted toward the unimpressive Master that had started to run from his desk to duck behind his spirit, each deflected at the last moment with sparks of energy. I had thought my Master worthless, but this man was as unimpressive as they come. He looked at me from over his master's shoulder, staring at the growing number of gates appearing around the room. Unlike the Master, the Servant looked much more nervous about his position here. "Your poisoning, was it to happen in the night? If so, you used the wrong dosage."

"Why is he even here, you said her spirit would be gone once she was dead." The mediocre man hissed at his own Servant. His Servant looked annoyed at his master's own inability, I expect he had hoped to refuse any participation in such a breech. "You aren't doing a very good job for someone that can see the future."

My first impression was correct, my actions were being predicted. An interesting skill set, and certainly worthy of a Caster. Yet it gave away the Servant's identity to anyone that had taken a moment to study history at all. While I'd come across French Caster's before, there wasn't exactly a long list of French occultists that were also rumored to predict the future. The fire alarm blared a moment later and I grinned…perhaps my Servant was becoming more useful than I first gave her credit for. Dozens of swords shot at the pair of them then from a variety of angles, but still, a shield met every one.

"What are you doing? Attack him back." The man's voice went high-pitched, breaking with fear, for while he'd been safe enough, he had watched all the swords coming at him before they were paused by the shields of his Master.

"Can you appreciate my Noble Phantasms? Knowing the fate that awaits you? Able to see it many times before it claims you? A compliment for an undeserving subject, you should feel exalted." I remarked, smiling as the Caster jumped to catch one of the blades in his shoulder for his Master. "No matter how much you can see, eventually your power is still overwhelmed…you know they're coming but you still can't stop them all. Your Master doesn't have enough mana to do more, give up now. You can already see your fate can you not? My treasures ending your gambit for the grail."

Auric lines cut across the room in sparkling ribbons of power, my Phantasms beating down on the enemy. Had he thought this trick would be enough? I took a step forward, began to start backward but it was too late. A spell circle curled out from where I'd touched the ground for only a moment, the placement exactly where I would have needed to brush the floor if even only for a moment. Magic curled up from the floor, lines of white energy curling around my legs and arms like illuminated vines. Then the world shifted as well, the lit-up vines fading to real ones as the room changed to a forest clearing in the night.

"A reality bubble?" I laughed at their use of power. It was clever enough. The ability required me to step in the right position…but for someone that could see the future knowing where I'd put my foot was easy enough. I had to give him it was a useful skill, though I read patterns easily enough that I'd nearly avoided it. I had to give the Servant some small credit for capturing me even for a moment.

"Ha, get him while he's captured!" The Master called, suddenly more confident because of my temporary hold. I was instead looking at the magic circle, it remained even in the bubble, so likely had something to do with maintaining it, and indeed it had paralyzed my movement with the vines, but not for long enough as they were cut free by blades that shot from behind me and I shook my arms a moment to get the debris off my armor. Several small pieces of energy shot at me, I deflected many of them but one did catch my shoulder, another my opposite leg but they didn't tarnish my armor.

"It is not enough Gilgamesh of Babylon; I'm not certain how you ended up in this war but you won't last. Your vault isn't endless and I can block it all, what will you do when the weapons cease to flow?" The servant remarked, still unconcerned with me though I had already pressed through his defenses once. Then he was stronger and capable of making more shields in his reality? I glanced then to my mongrel as she ran out of the woods and into the clearing. I held up a hand to stop her. I could withstand whatever spell was in the circle Nostradamus had created but I doubted her frail body could handle it. He could control who entered or exited his reality once enacted?

"What?" My mongrel had paused at my motion but was looking around confused, she'd clearly not expected to end up here. Why had she run here regardless? She was a liability. I frowned at her as I paused in front of her to block one of the rays of energy shot at her chest. I would need to keep in mind her fragile nature…frustrating. She snapped back to the present at my defense however, barking as usual. "What are you doing? People are starting to gather on the west lawn but it won't last long, I bought us a few minutes' tops. Can't you hurry this up!?"

Must she be so needy?

"Where is your bravado, King of Heroes?" A hint of mockery had entered the enemy's voice, more magic pebbles shooting at me…one of them dented my armor. Someone was going to be gutted today, and for all her whining I couldn't make it my 'Master'.

"Stay down and behind me." I stated to my mongrel, turning to face the enemy Master and Servant.

I planned to destroy him shortly with or without her direction. His spells weren't extremely strong for a Caster but still more powerful than another class would be…and with his skill of reading the future if this was the extent of my skill I would have been pressed, even if slightly. Knowing where they needed to be placed, and having a read on the field of battle before anything occurred was his trump card. It was a notable ability, one that against any other Servant would have posed a much greater threat than it did for me.

This Servant, would have probably defeated many of the others…if they hadn't assassinated the many masters…but if all he could do was read patterns, it wouldn't be enough…perhaps he thought he knew it all, that everything was laid out before him neatly like a book. He probably could see himself winning right now. He was wrong.

My other Noble Phantasm, one that had waited too long to again be called into the world. It felt right to dust the blade off after these many years…I held my hand up, pulling the key like device from my vault. I turned it in the air, amused when the Servant's eyes widened. Again, as I knew it would be, for no Servant could have predicted Ea. Ea was out of time, a blade of utter creation and destruction. Brilliant neon energy blossomed upward, sending bursts of air out around me as the power gathered around the energy curling backward on itself to create the spinning crimson and sable blade. A beauty of weaponry that no other could hope to unlock or wield.

"Ea, awaken." I smiled at the way the power barraged outward at my command. Her baleful magic cutting through the forest around us and into the Master and Servant. Some of it was blocked to the Caster's credit, but that was just reaction not prediction. I had told him it wouldn't be enough, but most fools didn't learn until they were dead. Cracks began to form along the earth and sky… "I will make your deaths swift, as thanks for giving me reason to brandish Ea. An exquisite blade, one impossible even for the great Nostradamus to see. You should be grateful to fall by something so far from your reach."

"Enuma Elish!" I delighted in it, the raw dominance that curled from the tip of the spinning otherworldly weapon was a bright scarlet, blood set fire. It cut through the air like lightning, bursting from several points – more than the other Servant could hope to block even had he been able to predict them. It cut through both Master and Servant, as well as shattering the reality bubble and leaving lines of damage along the classroom we returned to. The building shook in reverence to Ea though I was already letting her fade back to her place as one of my highest treasures.

A short-lived battle but longer than I'd predicted. I hadn't had to go all out, but there was more effort involved than I would have liked for my first kill of the war. I'd wanted to see Ea again after my long absence, so I didn't have ill will for the dead. I'd drawn the weapon many times but it had felt right to have the hilt in my hand again, satisfying. To have it respond to me as only I could force it, the enemies may have been beneath Ea but it was done now. I expect I could have simply overwhelmed Nostradamus with more than he could defend no matter his hubris but I wanted to make this a curtain others could feel closing. Any that would stand against me in this war should beware.

"You destroyed almost the entire building!" I couldn't help but smirk despite her barking. I'd seen her staring in wonder moments ago, before she'd forced herself to get irritated. My Master was fickle and uncouth but I couldn't kill her so I might as well enjoy her. She seemed about ready to complain at me more when she heard someone down the hallway calling out to see if anyone needed help. Her eyes widened and she whispered a curse, clearly against being seen here. Lucky for her I was in high-spirits, I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her with me through reality back to the outside of her home. I couldn't teleport inside with the wards her family had put there, I'd need to walk inside but I could get close enough to make that convenient.

I had a stew to get to after all.

 **End Chapter**

Heh, oh Gilgamesh…I hope the fight is worthy enough of the King of Heroes…I'm sure nothing I write is something he'd consider appropriate XD.

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

Not this time, maybe next chapter? Maybe I'm writing too quick to really get many reviews? ahahaha


	7. Set Fire to the Rain

**Chapter Seven:** **_Set Fire to the Rain_**

 _"My hands, they were strong, but my knees were far too weak. To stand in your arms, without falling to your feet…cause there's a side to you that I never knew, never knew. All the things you'd say, they were never, never true. And the games you'd play, you would always win, always win…"_

 **-Adele Lyrics,** ** _Set Fire to the Rain_**

 _Nothing like a battle to get one's blood running. It had been minor, but still the first time stretching out my muscles in a long time had felt good, it had my adrenaline up. What was it the mongrels said? A new lease on life? I suppose I couldn't argue the concept, it was a fitting enough description for appreciating the world after being dead for a while. I suppose even tolerating my mongrel's insolence was a contemporary experience. She wasn't an equal of any kind obviously but she'd proven more resourceful than I thought. I hadn't broken in a new pet in a while, but she could suffice with the right training...at least if she adjusted well it wouldn't be a waste of my time while we finished this war._

 ** _Natsumi –_**

I was about to start yelling at Gilgamesh about not listening but he swept me off my feet. Which was a lot less comfortable than movies or television had lead me to believe, I felt frightened off my own feet. I let out a half yelp of surprise before the world around me faded into brilliant light and burst into golden motes of light around me. We were gone…the school wasn't in front of us anymore. He'd transported and manifested us both? My irritation was replaced with curiosity…I'd heard of Servants transferring Masters quickly like Riders…but not instantly as he had just done. What exactly could Gilgamesh do that none of us knew about?

His mood seemed greatly improved after his battle, he set me on my feet despite my worry he would drop me but his hands remained on my hips. I was about to ask why but my knees felt like jello, I would have collapsed on the spot if he hadn't have kept hold. That wasn't the best way for a human to travel, I was fairly sure. He lifted me up again, throwing me over a shoulder like a sack before walking up toward the estate. Ugh, I was dizzy and uncomfortable…no more of whatever that was. Why was he so keen to return anyway? Wouldn't it be beneath him to move me about like this? Had he always been this capricious?

"My keys, are in my bag." I remarked, even my arms felt shaky, as if they were numb with pins and needles but when he set me down again I didn't drop, I could lean on the wall near the door while he plucked the house keys from my purse. Apparently, he did have some limits since he didn't just carry us back inside. I wasn't really sure what to say to him. I was mad he'd more or less demolished the school building but he'd kept me safe and he'd defeated one of our opponents… ""Uh…thanks…for the battle, I guess."

"Is your gratitude mere theory?" He asked, opening the door and gesturing inside. He could have walked in ahead of me but didn't.

"No, that's not what I mean. Thank you." I corrected, realizing it probably wasn't the politest way to thank him. I glanced at the walk, a bit unsure but I managed a shaky step, then another. Science fiction had lied to me, humans should not be doing the high-speed transportation thing, it was not easy. I still was glad that I was getting my feet beneath me with the effort of thinking about it. I almost never had company, even when I hung out with friends I never brought them back to my house. It was an alien feeling walking in the door with someone else there. The inside smelled good, the stew would be ready by now. It was early but it felt late and with all the mana I'd been using and all the rest I hadn't been getting I was very ready to get some food. "I will dish up the stew."

It wasn't exactly the way I wanted it done, but one of the seven was down already. Nostradamus? He could see the future but Gilgamesh's blade Ea had been outside of that ability? That's not only a little frightening, he had a sword that couldn't be touched by what? Fate? Creepy. I suppose it was the least I could do to get food ready, I was the hostess after all. I went to the kitchen and opened the cupboards, reaching up to get down the nicer bowls. It'd been years since I'd used them so I ran the water in the sink to clean them up first. Tempting as it was, I can't imagine his good mood would remain if I served him dust bunnies with his stew. I smirked at the idea all the same.

After filling up the bowls I pulled out some spoons and stuck them in. I hadn't made bread but there was a lot of extra stew so it would work. I felt tired after the way he'd brought us back so I didn't really want to make something else. I was about to enter the dining room, connected to the kitchen by a swinging door when it opened. I stumbled, dropping the bowls...they were about to hit the floor just after their contents but then they weren't there. They'd vanished before hitting the floor, I could see them reforming on the table behind him. He was looking at me skeptically then held out a glass that had red liquid in it. He was giving me something else?

"What will this cost me?" I asked as I accepted the metal cup, sniffing at it. It smelled sweet but alcoholic, the notes had said he had a fondness for wine. I doubted telling him that I was underage would really mean much so I couldn't really refuse without some other reason. I'd had a few drinks here and there before, most people had by the time they were my age, legal or not. I didn't really want to just keep drinking anything he handed me though, that seemed unwise.

"This in particular, nothing. You already owe me more than you'll likely be able to repay. This seemed a moment to celebrate the beginning of the war, and it is not a celebration if one drinks alone." He remarked, fading out and reappearing at the head of the table. Not sure why I thought he'd sit anywhere else. "Why do you have such an obstacle between your kitchen and dining room?"

"Well, it's um a pretty old style." I explained, a little off-put by his friendly attitude and unexpected question. "I guess my grandmother had considered it important to keep? Shirou told me that once, so I didn't have the heart to take the door down though I don't really know why. Did your home not have kitchens separate from the dining area?"

"The kitchens were in different halls and food was transferred over. There were few doors inside my palace other than the entrances or gates. You mentioned Shirou once before, how did you know him? Do you know where he is now?" Gilgamesh asked, I could tell he wasn't fond of my adopted dad but it seemed like the wine helped temper a topic that would otherwise sour his mood.

"He adopted me after my family died, but he died last summer." I answered, walking to the table to set down the cup and then take my seat near him at the end of the long table. It felt good to sink into the overstuffed chair, my grandmother had great taste sometimes if odd architectural choices at others.

"Oh?" He grinned a bit more, of course he would celebrate news my dad's death. I picked up my spoon to eat, I needed to fill my mouth before I said something I shouldn't and ruined his rare positive disposition. "That explains your knowledge of my history, however, why would you not summon Shirou's legendary spirit?"

"I didn't want to. I loved dad, but it took two of him to…fight you off. You are the superior Servant, but you know that already." I stated, he was just looking for compliments, he really was shameless. It was a battle not to roll my eyes as I answered. I reached over to take a small sip of the wine, it was surprisingly good. I looked at it curiously, it tasted like exotic berries and sugar, it was smooth, you couldn't taste the alcohol. That was dangerous, I had to be careful not to drink too much. Still, I doubted he would take no for an answer and I had to choose my battles more carefully with him. I was glad I'd snuck a few beers before, I wouldn't want my first experience with alcohol to be with Gilgamesh. Setting the cup down I took a bite of the food. It was nice. I'd done a good job with the stew…well mostly the slow cooker had done it but my spicing was spot on if I do say so myself.

It seemed as though it must be all right cause Gilgamesh didn't react to eating it as though it was 'swill unfit for the King of Heroes' so that made me feel good. I wasn't amazing at cooking, I was no gourmet chef, but I enjoyed it. Even if he wasn't the best company it was nice to have someone to share a meal with. Besides, he'd done what he said he would…he killed one of the competition…it wasn't an expected one…and it was midday which wasn't great but I was already down to five instead of six. I wonder if he would accept me just making him a meal every time he killed one of the Servant's for me?

I knew better than to make the offer, but man, that would be nice and simple.

"So, you were from Babylon and you're part god?" I wanted to hear more about him from him specifically. I'd noticed in my research that the more a Master could connect with their Servant in general there seemed to be a stronger reaction from the Servant. I had no way of proving the hypothesis but it was something Shirou had thought to be true, he'd married his Servant after all and he'd described learning to resonate with Saber though he'd started with almost no magical training at all. I didn't want to marry Gilgamesh, heaven forbid, but if us having a few conversations could help us succeed I would rather spend the time I had to be with him on something constructive.

"Yes…yes, I expect much of what you researched was true enough in some way or another." He waved a hand at the questions, as if batting away a fly. Surprising, I'd expected the self-involved spirit to love talking about himself. "You don't need to placate me mongrel. You know that Shirou defeated me, even if it was partly luck and partly the environment I accept that, taking advantage of every possible angel is a part of battle for those less strong than I. I don't feel fondly about the mongrel, but I accept facts all the same. It won't be the last time luck wins or loses a battle."

Maybe he wasn't as self-possessed as I thought? I mean, that was still pretty haughty but he was at least aware of the truths around him even with his At least, if he was, then he was still aware of the things around him, even with his arrogance he wasn't completely blinded by it. Good news but I was surprised that he would admit his loss at my adopted dad's hands all the same.

"I wasn't in the wars as far as you knew, I was sealed away. Yet, you went out of your way to call me even after I'd betrayed your ancestor…a strange choice knowing what that mongrel was capable of. He would have been strong enough without me on the field," He stated, turning his cup up to where he had finished it already and I'd barely touched mine. How much did he drink? Apparently, a lot. "What is it that you want to wish for?"

"I want what my grandfather wanted, Akasha. If I can reach the root…why is that funny?" I bristled as he started laughing at my answer so shortly after I gave it. He didn't even let me finish my explination. "Why ask me something if you're just going to make fun of me?"

"Akasha is a fool's gold of a nirvana that the mages have convinced themselves of, a distant mirage, chase it all you like but you'll still end up parched in the desert." Gilgamesh answered, still clearly amused by what he thought a pointless wish. "I knew you were young and impressionable, but not devoid of reason. None that have 'touched the root' have returned to the world. Do you really think you can change anything by disappearing?"

"I…" I hesitated, it wasn't as if he wasn't right. I'd heard the stories before. Yet, mages believed that in true enlightenment people reached ultimate peace or they failed and were punished. His words were so personal, not like normal. Sure, they were judgmental, that never went away, but he sounded almost offended at my answer. My eyes widened and I nearly spilled my wine putting it down harder than I meant to at my realization. "You…you were at the root. When I summoned you…that's why it didn't go like normal."

"I don't know for certain." He answered with a shrug, his mood seeming to sour slightly at my words, swirling his wine in his glass. Certainly, the sardonic smile on his lips no longer reached his eyes. I stared at him but he wasn't really giving anything away on his face other than that. Wherever he'd been, it wasn't the Throne of Heroes, he'd been somewhere else, that's why he'd appeared as he did, crawling from the earth. Had he been in some sort of hell then? Is that why his behavior didn't match up completely with the reports about him? I doubt I could just blurt out; were you in hell? And start asking questions. That probably would be frowned upon, whatever had happened, he didn't like it, he probably didn't want to start listing any intimate details for me. I'd guessed that he was somewhere strange already but I thought it was something else, that maybe he didn't care for whatever his place was in the Throne…some Servants tried to remain in the world only to avoid going back to their fates in the Thone of Heroes after all…

I was right, I was certain of it, that's why he'd considered my summoning worthy of a debt and had been tolerating my temper. I picked up my drink to take a drink, a bit more somber at the realization. Had I pulled him out of hell? I shouldn't say I didn't know nothing was amiss, I expected he must have gone through something, but that wasn't really my first guess until now. If he was right, and that place he didn't want to return to so much that he suffered me as an indignity was the root…then what was I doing? I stirred my stew and quietly took another bite, though it wasn't quite as enjoyable now. I chewed and swallows slowly.

"You don't know…so it may not have been the root?" I spoke more subdued than a moment ago, fearing a bit his answer.

"It isn't for certain, but I expect so or I wouldn't make the guess." He replied, I wasn't looking at him but I could feel him staring at me. I was every bit the idiot he thought I was. Gilgamesh had seen more of the grail than any living person…I had no reason to doubt his guess…

A stupid child clinging to hope that was just damnation, just the way Shirou had told me…had warned me. Could I really continue to battle when I didn't know what to do if I won? I didn't want to wish and stick myself in a place even Gilgamesh wished to avoid…and he could be wrong but I didn't think he was. Gilgamesh was a manipulator but he rarely outright lied in my history with him. So, what would I even wish for that was in the grail's power? I wanted my family back…but it was against the rules to bring people back from the dead. Histories didn't go into the details but what little they wrote about it having happened in the past wasn't pretty. Those that were dead, should generally stay dead, except for the spirits…but they weren't human.

Dammit…and we'd killed someone today. My average but not so bad seeming professor…I mean he did try to poison me so I suppose that was sort of good considering the other contestants but could I really kill other masters when I suddenly didn't have conviction. I felt the tears coming and I wanted to fight them back, it would be even worse if I started crying in front of him. He'd probably start mocking me any moment now.

"Why did you wish to reach Akasha?" He asked, drawing me out of my depressing thoughts. It seemed an absurd question but at least if I talked maybe I wouldn't burst into tears. I wiped at my face all the same before I answered.

"I ah…I wanted to return my family, to make the Tohsaka name important again, to help them after their murder in the last war…but the grail can't do that." I stated, barely able to get through the statement, I knew my voice was close to breaking but I'd held it. This was all a mistake. I should have already known that Akasha couldn't help. I knew others had vanished after reaching it. Maybe I just hoped they would be there…but that didn't seem to be the case from what little Gilgamesh had said.

"You need not return the dead to make your family name important, or to avenge those that wronged you." He pointed out, he was still speaking between bites of his meal. I knew he had to be able to tell I was about to cry but at least he wasn't mocking me. Though just having a conversation was still difficult, was this his way of trying to make me feel better? Doubtful, I was reading too far into things. I even had Gilgamesh taking pity on me, that had to be a new one. He was right…but I didn't really want vengeance, I didn't even know who had killed them. Certainly, though…the other option was there…restoring my family's name.

"You should eat, you'll be a poor attendant if you are malnourished." He stated and I nodded. Whatever I was feeling now he was right, I wouldn't do myself any good if I got ill, I would figure something out. I wasn't going to step aside, it was too late for that…there had to be something I could wish for that would help my family, even if it was only in memory.

"Yes, thank you…wait…attendant?" When was that decided? My eyes shot back to him but he was eating, not paying me mind despite my higher pitch. I wiped away a bit of moisture that had built up and fell down my cheeks at my sudden movement. Suddenly so distracted by this new claim that I was not embarrassed by my tears. Was that why he was being nice then? He wanted to make me some sort of servant to him?! Nevermind, he was the biggest egotist in the entirety of creation…

 **End Chapter**

Natsumi just sort of nosedived into the fire by summoning Gilgamesh, do not pass the frying pan, you are just going to burn heh. I can't imagine anyone that ever ended up with Gilgamesh was really that happy about it once he opened his mouth. I hope all the readers enjoyed Nostradamus even if he was short lived.

 ** _-Aura_**

To my reviewers:

Anthem – Ea sort of is yes, it's a bit outside of everything. And poor Natsumi, even with many warnings she had no idea what she was really getting into but that's part of the fun.

Holix25 – Sort of what he did, though it wasn't instant like he first said it would be.


	8. Absolute Zero

**Chapter Eight:** **_Absolute Zero_**

 _"If I offended you, you needed it. You're looking at an absolute zero. I'm not the devil, but I won't be your hero."_

 **-Stone Sour Lyrics _, Absolute Zero_**

 _Akasha, a fool's errand if ever there was one. The mages had forged their own philosophical sort of cult around this distorted ideal of enlightenment and ultimate power. As fake as most modern gods of forgiveness and kindness. Just as the grail was no more than a poisoned vessel of immoral action wrapped in an illusion of salvation. The gods were never as kind as many of the legends would imply, I am proof of that and I am far more magnanimous than any full immortal. Humans hubris, their covetous nature lead them to convince themselves of such falsity's in search of touching power that would destroy them. This mongrel was fortuitous, having me here reveal the flaw of her fractured fantasies._

 ** _Natsumi -_**

"Of course, it'll take some time to properly break you of poor behavior but when I regain a physical form having an attendant will make mundane affairs something I need not consider." He answered, as if this insane idea that I be his assistant was something I'd already agreed to. God, I was taking advice from an insane man…maybe he was entirely wrong after all and Akasha was still a good goal. Better than being his personal assistant probably…unless that counted as hell, cause I'm sure it would be.

"I am not your attendant, and nor will I be." I refused outright, shaking my head. "I know I made us dinner and I don't mind cooking or helping while you are my Servant, but once our contract is resolved I'm not just going to be your slave or something."

"Your defiance is unproductive. I expect more appreciation for offering such a divine position even though you haven't been overly useful so far. However, I am feeling gracious and will teach you proper behavior." He was just going on as if this was a thing, like it was set in stone.

I opened my mouth, then shut it, sure my first reply would get me killed. Instead I rubbed my temples, this day…what the hell was this day? Had I already died in the summoning and entered my own personal hell? Shirou was right, Gilgamesh was the devil…maybe I should just wish him back into his prison instead of allowing him out on the world…of course that might be hard to pull off. I'd have to keep from using my seals from telling him to go screw himself…

I didn't argue, what was the point? I mean, really, it's not like it mattered right now, as far as I knew it could just be some passing fancy or attempt to rile me. He always seemed amused by making me angry. I picked up my dish and got his as well since he was just lounging back in the chair sipping his wine. Jerk. I headed back to the kitchen to clean up and put away leftovers, though there wasn't a lot I had a bunch of Tupperware sizes so I'd find a place. I was in the habit of cooking too much even though I never had company. It was easier to have some leftovers on hand if I wasn't feeling putting together a meal that day. It was late afternoon, and would be evening soon…when the war was supposed to start…even though it'd already begun. I'd missed class but Gilgamesh had been right about that too, that I shouldn't go. Why did he have to be correct about so many details? It was frustrating.

Frustrating, correct, jerk.

"What do you do for enjoyment?" He asked from nearby, materializing so close it was distressing. I leapt again, there was no chance I was going to get used to that…he was doing it on purpose.

"Will you stop that!" I hissed in frustration. His eyes sparkled like rubies, amused, annoying, jerkish rubies. I hated to admit that he was handsome…but wasn't that the point, he was supposed to be attractive and perfect…physically anyway, he was part god and all. Mentally and socially he was so far off the mark he wasn't on the board. I guess at least my intolerable Servant was nice to look at? Not quite the consolation prize I hoped for. He didn't reply, so I could guess he had no plans to stop scaring me by destroying my personal bubble.

"I don't have a lot of time for fun. I have to deal with school, and the last few weeks I spent preparing for the summoning ritual." I answered. I wasn't sure why I was being overly grumpy…the whole reason I started talking to him earlier was so we could get a better report…of course then he went and destroyed my wish so fully and rudely, so I was a bit salty. I tried to force myself back on the speaking to him like a person wagon, it was difficult. "I guess when I'm not busy I like to cook and bake."

"Do you enjoy anything that isn't menial?" He held my cup from the table up to me and I looked at it then back to him but there was a challenge in his eyes. He expected me to refuse…that or he was daring me to keep drinking…either way I picked up the glass. I didn't want to give him one more thing to ridicule. Perhaps he would get more tolerable if I had more than half a glass. He'd already refilled it. I took a sip and being done in the kitchen walked to sit on the couch in the living room.

"Cooking and baking isn't menial if you enjoy it," I pointed out, folding one of my knees under my lap as I sat down. "I used to like skating but I haven't had much time for it. I prefer ice skating but you only get that here if the rink opens in the winter so usually I just do roller blading."

"Skating?" He wasn't being insulting for once, instead he was thoughtful. "I've seen it of course, but I haven't tried it. Why do you like it?"

"Um…it's fun for me? I mean you'd probably just think it was boring, but I like it, moving a little faster than usual, gliding across the ice or ground," I explained. "A lot of us mongrels enjoy sports that make us move faster or make us feel more graceful."

"I can see the appeal," He offered me a smirk at my self-depreciating humor even if it was slightly at his expense. Alcohol made him more tolerable, he didn't grumble at me…it was almost like he was letting his hair down from being so uptight about his ego. I suppose I could adjust to him being an alcoholic if it made him less of a jerk. "I've tried several pleasures, human or otherwise, but if you consider it so highly I'll have to attempt it."

"You want to go skating?" I was skeptical.

"It is only natural, I am a creature that explores every delight in the world. I was too swift to judge some of the modern recreations, it seems fair to attempt them before dismissing them." He answered me more fully than I expected. He was serious. I tried to picture him ice skating…but dammit he'd probably be great at it instantly. That would be a blow to my pride, I'd spent years doing it in my free time but there were many things I never mastered. If he went out and just started pulling triple axels I probably would tell him to go screw himself.

"Well, it's more a winter sport unless you mean roller blading but we'd have to buy you some roller blades. Other modern things? Um…video games a thing a lot of people like. I only have a few I like but you might enjoy those. I have some systems and games over there." I nodded toward the television. "Some people just like watching tv or movies, depending on what they watch. I have a few shows I like but I don't have a lot of time for them so I only watch occasionally."

"I wasn't overly impressed with most plays I've seen; your television and movies are the same thing only with less skill required for the actors." He dismissed the easiest idea outright, of course. Picky bastard couldn't just enjoy soap operas or something, he had to be difficult.

"So, what is it you enjoy then?" I asked before he could press me for more suggestions I didn't have readily available.

"A myriad of things. Food and wine are obvious delights most humans indulge in and in that I must agree with the mongrel mentality. I've had the best of both but there are always new recipes and dishes coming out, that much you mongrels are good for," He answered, sitting next to me on the couch even though there were other chairs and the rest of the length he could have picked. Next time I'd have to get him to sit first…why did he think just lounging in my personal bubble was where he should be? "There are several primal delights any creature can enjoy if the right switches are flipped."

His free hand settled a finger on my inner wrist, tracing up the center of my arm slowly. The sensation making my hairs stand on end and I pulled my limb from him to rub it where he'd touched me. He however, just moved the direction, pulling the tie deftly free from the front of my uniform. How had he loosened it so quickly anyway? I sighed at his behavior but at least he had left it at that, looking at the tie instead of trying to undress me.

"I got your point without you stripping me down. Don't lose that, I'll need it for class tomorrow," I stated, taking a drink of the glass in hopes it would help my mentality, at least if I was a bit fuzzy I was less likely to snap at him. I tended to calm down when I had some alcohol so maybe his hobby wasn't so horrible. My chest felt a bit tight, my body did in general…why did he want to make examples out of his statements?

"An uncomfortable piece of fabric, isn't it?" He asked, dropping it to the side after looking at it. "Why subject yourself to such discomfort?"

"Um, it's the school uniform? All the students wear a tie, girls or boys. It isn't really that bad once you get used to it," I stated, reaching over him to retrieve my tie so it wouldn't just get left here. Then, it wasn't really a bright idea to leave myself open to him. He pulled the ribbon free of my hair while I leaned over, I sighed at him. Pushing my hair from my face and trying to flatten it a little, it always got a little wild after being tied up much of the day. "I like to keep my hair up, I don't want to use a lot of products in it and if I keep it up it doesn't go crazy."

I held my hand out for the tie, I had others but I didn't like to just leave things around the house, it was big and keeping it tidy all the time was better than letting it get cluttered. He watched me, as if he as measuring my words and actions for some, probably nefarious, purpose.

"If it bothers you, then why not cut it?" He asked, reaching up to take my hand instead of giving me my ribbon. He pulled my wrist closer to his face, though I'd tightened my arm and thought I might pull away again, when he wanted to hold firm there was nothing I could do. I only ended up pulling myself closer instead of pulling my arm away from him, it was like a statue had gotten hold of me. I paused to stare in surprise at the unexpected hold, now what?

"I don't want to cut it, I look boyish with short hair." I answered him honestly, there was no point in lying about it. I didn't want to show him that I was nervous when he did these things, or that I would back down just because he threw his power around a little. "What are you doing?"

"Keep your hand there." He directed, flashing a smile at me. He let go but used his now free hand and his teeth to tie the ribbon around my wrist, apparently not willing to let go of his wine with the other. I stayed still, I had to admit I was curious at his behavior…and a bit impressed at his dexterity. It was effortless, as though he tied gentle knots with his teeth commonly. He watched my observing even while he did it, crimson gaze staring up at me from between locks of gold. His finesse enough that he need not look at it the ribbon to get it neatly into a bow. I swallowed, taking a drink of my own wine – why was my mouth dry anyway?

What had gotten into him?

"Why are you being so odd? Is there something I should be worried about in this wine?" I asked, trying to avoid the flustered feelings he inspired.

"It is a fine vintage, by evening the mana infused within should have you brimming with power. It'll keep you healthy when I draw mana from you while you sleep." He replied, taking a drink of his own…which I realized for the first time wasn't the exact same color as what he'd given me. He'd dosed me with mana producing wine? Was that even a thing? Had the King of Heroes just roofied me? Well no, honestly, I didn't really feel much more than slightly relaxed, the same gentle buzz one would get from any alcohol.

"So…you are marinating me with magic?" I frowned as I considered the comparison and the idea that he wanted to sleep together nude again. He was just trying to make me taste better? Rude. "Couldn't you just drink it yourself and then we could sleep in our own rooms."

"When I had a physical body, I could have used the wine as a source of energy, but now my tether is you. It cannot offer me anymore actual nutrition than the stew. It would taste fine but I chose a different vintage for myself." He answered calmly, as if soaking my innards in special magical alcohol was the normal thing to do.

"You should warn me if you're giving me something like that," I remarked, disliking the idea but having no real idea how to complain about it. After all, it had made me feel better, and while it was still also in his own self-interest it wasn't really harming me, it would give me the chance to still have power of my own to call on while fueling him. I frowned, "Why is it whenever you seem to be making logical choices I still feel as though I'm being taken advantage of?"

He chuckled at my observation, though the laughter was not light as it had been a moment ago, slightly vicious edge had worked in. "You interpret the opposite of truth, you are a jaded mongrel. I lift a burden from your shoulders, not add hardship yet instead of recognition you offer ridicule. You have given due appreciation in the past, not always but you know the proper words. Yet, I did altruistically agree to teach you proper manners. I can't do that if I let you just say whatever you like. A mongrel cannot learn tricks without discipline. What then should I make your punishment?"

Punishment? That wasn't a good word from Gilgamesh, usually that meant death, and while in this case he sounded very seriously like he didn't plan for that, I didn't like the idea all the same. I was about to try and offer some sort of reasoning but he took my other hand suddenly. It didn't hurt but I dropped the wine…the glass and contents both disappearing instead of spilling. His glass was gone as well, it seemed he was done celebrating.

 **End Chapter**

Natsumi has issues with realizing when she's getting herself into trouble for sure. Hahaha. This chapter was hard to write, I kept pondering just how to go about it.

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

Anthem – Sorry about that, I'm not sure why it does that.


	9. For Your Entertainment

**Warning:** This chapter contains mature content. You've been warned.

 **Chapter Nine:** ** _For Your Entertainment_**

 _"No escaping when I start, once I'm in I own your heart. There's no way you'll ring the alarm. So, hold on until it's over. Oh, do you know what you got into? Can you handle what I'm 'bout to do? Cause it's about to get rough for you. I'm here for your entertainment…"_

 **-Adam Lambert Lyrics,** ** _For Your Entertainment_**

 _Discipline. It was by the enforcement of law that a king ruled, I was no different in that than other kings. More aggressive than most usually, but I hadn't had many unruly citizens. Death had been a common punishment for those that offended me, mongrels either died at my hand or would die eventually but they did want to extend their lives so it was a simple and effective method. This mongrel, the stakes were different, I couldn't simply kill her but I couldn't allow her continued disrespect either. I was a generous King, I would start with small sanctions and work my way into greater corrections. She would learn to properly behave by the end of our time together, or she would die when her time as my tether ended. Either way, it was a bit exciting, a new experience training my own mongrel…perhaps I could come to understand the enjoyment of menial work in it._

 ** _Natsumi –_**

"I didn't mean offense, I just was making an observation…what are you?" I frowned, ceasing my trying to reason with him when I realized he was using the length of the ribbon to tie my wrists together. I didn't really notice before it was too late to struggle and when he let go I couldn't pull my hands apart. I scowled at him. "This isn…"

I was going to say funny, but he had picked back up my tie and put it in my mouth, making a gag out of it. I stared in surprise, I couldn't even use a Command Seal to order him if I couldn't speak, had I finally pushed him too far? I would have been more frightened but with spells, I could probably still get free easy. I just didn't know if he'd react even more strongly if I did. Instead I stared at him in irritation, hoping he could pick up how much I disliked him right now.

"There, much more compliant." He said impishly. Then he reached over and lifted me up, my arms I couldn't really move, my legs flailed a moment but he tossed me on my bed after moving through the house…I was face down in the bed and unable to really move my hands well to push up. I was about to call on magic to release my bonds but he sat me up instead of leaving me in the haphazard position I'd landed in.

"None of that." He chastised, clicking his tongue at me. Yet for his harshness, he was pushing my hair from my face and sitting me on the edge of the bed with a gentleness I didn't expect. "If you release yourself, it's no better than a prisoner that escapes their bonds. Then I'll merely need to find new and worse gallows to place you in."

…

I wasn't sure what was on his deprived mind but I didn't really want to press him, I knew he could call on the chain of heaven after all, and my magic would do little to that. I'd have to try and be patient and see what the hell he was planning. I was growing more worried though, he could tell when I was about to use magic? I'd seen reports that believed he could read the world and patterns in it with minute precision but I hadn't realized he could even sense tiny changes in the flow of mana. He was watching my face, as if reading what I was thinking about, his lips still curled in a half smirk.

"People are easy to read, and mana…spirits are made of it. Most legendary spirits of any worth can tell when a magus is about to use a spell." He stated, laughing at my alarmed expression. "You have no need to fear mongrel, I won't kill you. Did I not tell you I was a spirit of pleasure, not pain? Not that one cannot mix the two but it takes a certain skill most lack. No, as I already told you I am feeling charitable, you will take time to consider your mistakes but I will be undressing you as it will be difficult for you while you are sealed. I have no reason to waste the wine I gave you after all, your mana is strong so I'll rest beside you again."

I felt the warm coming to my cheeks as he explained, he was already unclipping my shoes to slip them from my feet. His punishment was undressing me? Hedonist, perverted, wanton drunk lecher…my mind filtered through synonyms of insults as I stared at him taking off my second shoe, then shivered as his hand curled up my leg over my calf and around my knee to my thigh where fingers curled around one of my thigh high socks. He repeated the same motion on the other leg dropping the clothing to the side without regard for the fabric once he'd taken it off. I swallowed, I still had the urge to free myself…but I didn't know how much worse he'd make it.

My mind reeled between abject humiliation and awkward appeal…his hands were warm and soft, he was indeed not being cruel or harsh…it was more that I might die of embarrassment than fear. All the same, I cursed his sexual nature, I should have expected more sexual harassment from a renowned womanizer…then again, the way he barely drew his touch over my legs was causing my abdomen to tighten. Despite his claim that this was retribution his touch was almost reverent…

He rubbed my legs a moment, the massage a bit far from mistreatment, had he only killed people for so long that he didn't know how to execute any other penalty? Then his hands slipped back up the inside of my thighs, curling around them just short of brushing me intimately close, I swallowed. Then again, I felt fire enter my face as he pulled my underwear down around my legs, did I have to pick today to wear the ones with little bears on them? He smiled at me, slightly raising a brow but at least he didn't comment on the pattern. My skirt followed the underwear to the floor, I was less pleased about him fully taking off everything, at least yesterday I still had something on.

He lifted me up then, and I let out a squeak of surprise as he moved me. Then he pulled up my hands to tie them to the top of the headboard. Leaning close to my face before shifting down to undo the buttons of my shirt with his teeth. Why was he so dexterous with his teeth anyway? That wasn't really a redeeming quality, was it? Where did one pick up that skill? I wasn't quite sure. Even after the buttons were free he didn't just open the shirt and look at my chest as I thought he might. No, he seemed more interested in the process of unwrapping than what was beneath the paper.

I didn't grow nervous until he drew a dagger from one of the circular portals he used to summon his weapons. He grinned at my flickering gaze and raised the weapon to my wrist, cutting through the fabric of my uniform. Why was he destroying my uniform!? Those were expensive, and this time of year they'd be impossible to replace.

I started to struggle but he caught my chin with the hilt of the jeweled blade. It was cold compared to his touch and the contrast got my attention more than his relocation of my face. Then he leaned close, staring at my eyes from inches away…he'd done it before…but it was different. There was a possessive glint in those crimson pools, a depthless longing that left me hypnotized. He loosened the gag on my head, leaning to close the distance between us. I didn't move though I could have with as slowly as he'd moved toward me.

His lips were so close I could feel the static from his body on mine, but he didn't complete the motion, watching me a moment. I couldn't quite speak though…this wasn't at all what I'd expected, was he waiting for me to participate? Fat chance. I hated to even admit I wasn't as bothered as I should be by this… Despite his greedy gaze, the moment passed and he didn't kiss me but instead leaned past my mouth to trail his teeth along my ear, nibbling the bottom of it a moment. Was I disappointed he hadn't kissed me? I wasn't gagged anymore, but I wasn't protesting either…I couldn't decide if I wanted to. I considered it when I heard his knife cutting back through the fabric of my uniform…but it wasn't like I didn't have others…and his nose and teeth on my ear were hard to ignore. While I was otherwise distracted he'd made short work of my sleeves…tatters of fabric were on either side of me but the cool air gave away that he'd gotten my shirt free.

How could he simultaneously agitate and arouse me? I had a hard time being upset when I felt more like I was being seduced than sentenced. I certainly was confused as to if I could speak yet without earning his temper, so I didn't. He'd leaned back from my ear, now his hands traced my waist and sides, moving slowly up to my chest but he circled around my breasts and up to the straps that held them in place. His blade made short work of them as well. He then set the tip of the dagger on my abdomen. He didn't press but the sharpness still made me tighten my body out of natural reaction.

"The best part of pleasure my mongrel, is the build to it. The anticipatory aroma of a meal that envelopes the senses long before a taste envelopes the tongue." He spoke quietly, but his voice was different than usual, infused with a tightly controlled hunger. He was slowly dragging the tip of the blade up the center of my chest as he made his somewhat lackadaisical explanation. "The expectation, the growing recognition that satisfaction is within a fingertip's reach drives people to ruin delights through gluttony and haste."

He twisted the blade, angling it beneath the center of my breasts carefully, it was close enough to cut me for certain, but his agility seemed to make it a simple task for him to start sawing the front of my bra open without cutting my chest. "Still, finding an appropriate duration to tease the senses is required. If one waits too long, food grows cold…"

I jumped slightly when the blade finished cutting through the front and the undergarment fell away from my chest. Still, I hadn't been cut by him, the weapon had faded from his hand harmlessly. I was completely exposed, and yet I somehow felt enticed. I swallowed again, wetting my lips as if to speak, but then just shut my mouth again as he settled himself closer to me, somewhere in all of that his clothes had turned to dust as well. His skin felt like fire against mine when he leaned close against me. He pulled the ribbons free of my hands. "Then again. Denial of a climax of indulgence can also make the next moment of gratification even greater."

With that he tugged me down and held me from behind as he had yesterday. He nuzzled into my hair again but didn't continue to feel me up. Was that it then? Was that his bizarre hedonist trial because I didn't thank him for wanting to make me some twisted form of personal assistant? Of course, I wasn't comfortable afterward, I was still exceptionally embarrassed and to a point I wasn't sure if I should feel shameful for not saying something when I could have possibly put a stop to his perverted behavior. All the same, I still felt both a bit chided and disgruntled by his sudden silence. My heart was still thundering in my chest…he had to be able to feel it through my back, he knew that he'd influenced me, that was his plan after all. How was I supposed to sleep after all that?!

 **End Chapter**

Gilgamesh is so evil…so so evil…and wrong…and just rude in general. Master of riling someone up just to shut them down so completely…lol…

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

Hello darkness my old friend…


	10. Taking Over Me

**Warning:** Still fairly mature till about half way through.

 **Chapter Ten:** **_Taking Over Me_**

 _"I lie awake and try so hard not to think of you. But who can decide what they dream? And dream I do…"_

 **-Evanescence Lyrics,** **_Taking Over Me_**

 _The void, it affected me more than I wished to admit. I had wanted to tempt the girl, not myself, as I undressed her. It had all been forgettable enough…until I'd loosened her gag. I'd expected one of two responses; she would protest and I'd have to return the piece of cloth…or she would kiss me before I denied her. Instead, I'd been met with quiet fascination, she wasn't completely covetous of me but neither was she contrite. When I'd stopped myself from pressing my lips into her, for certainly I suddenly yearned to press more than our mouths together, she'd been almost crestfallen in that moment. Yet, she'd remained silent, quiet…even now against my chest with her pulse still accelerated she didn't speak. Her breath was uneven but not so much that she lacked it completely. Yet no words escaped her, had I broken her in so short a moment? If so, she was even more mongrel than I'd thought, all the same I felt a flutter of melancholy…for all my complaints, I'd been having fun with this 'Master', with the challenge of her._

 _"What the hell was that? What are you trying to do!?" She turned over in my arms, her eyes a conflagration of temper right next to the burn in her cheeks. I smiled in earnest, her flippancy meant the game wasn't over._

 ** _Natsumi –_**

"Attempt?" His chest rumbled against my fist, his amusement for my words ran deep and he pulled me closer to him, making me more aware of our precarious position…we were both without clothes after all, even with a few sheets tangled a bit between us it was far from what I was used to. "An untrue description, you are undoubtedly flustered. By being this close to bliss only to have it denied to you. Would you like to retract your request about my kissing you? Perhaps if you grow less cold I'll consider alleviating some of your torment."

"As if." I snapped after struggling a moment for a reply. I fumbled my way into turning back over, not wanting to give him the pleasure of looking at him. I got a bit more tangled in the sheet but I didn't really care if it put more of it between me and him. He pulled me back up close to his body, his chuckling still something I could feel as he pressed in close against my skin. Why was he so warm? His chest felt like a stone in the sun on a summer day, it was sweltering. For all my vexation at his games, it bothered me most that he was right.

My body was still alight with sensation from his undressing me, my arms and torso still could feel the sharp but slight pressure of his blade cutting through my clothing. My ear still tingled as well…and I was just…wound up. I felt like something inside of me had been electrified and then was just left spinning aimlessly. Considering it, I hated to admit that this did feel like I was left deprived of any payoff for his exasperating attention. More worrisome was that some part of me had wanted it, wanted him. Of all the beasts in the world it rattled me that I was weak enough to long for this one.

He smelled like a tropical forest, and the aroma was enveloping me since he'd gathered me up and wrapped himself around me like a cloak. Was it all just some side effect of his being a part god? Did gods smell of ambrosia and aphrodisiac? It would explain my stunning new thirst toward his touch, his tone, the trace of him around me. For as annoyed by his scheme as I was, I didn't want him to disappear. Gilgamesh was confusingly contradictory, I'd never desired someone I also despised before. How was it I could hate him and be captivated by him all at the same time if not for some deific endowment? Yet, even if I were under some sort of spell what hope did I have?

It wasn't as if I could ask him about it. I could already feel the rumbled laughter if I did and was wrong, the smug commentary that I'd been properly cowed. Ugh. This is horrible…I shouldn't even be laying down this early, it was going to mess up my plans. I'd hoped to take him out and finish another of the Servants tonight but I doubted he would be up for that. His breathing had already slowed, and if he wasn't sleeping he was close to it. Jerk. How could he do all that then fall asleep? If he wouldn't kill me for it, I'd probably elbow him in the dick. Then, he might take that as some sort of freaky foreplay, I didn't know. Gah! This was all so embarrassing!

I had had a boyfriend for a little bit, but all we'd done was a bit of kissing and feeling…nothing like this, we'd always had clothes firmly on. My lack of experience wasn't working in my favor. I knew generally how everything worked and I wasn't usually fazed easily but it was still mortifying that I'd gone from fairly tiny side league intimacy to this…this was certainly much more major league and it was simultaneously frighteningly unfamiliar and troublingly provocative. Would this be easier if I was like some of the girls at the school just spreading my legs for anyone? Would a slut have a hand up in this situation? No, probably not, none of the boys in town were exactly legendary spirits, more or less THIS legendary spirit. I doubted even if I had been a veteran at bedtime gymnastics that I would tolerate this any easier.

Nor could I mention it without him giving me some sort of snide comment. I was instead laying here thinking myself in circles. I was unable to sleep and having a hard time putting the sensations and emotions he'd plucked from me out of my mind. He'd told me several times he was a spirit of the many pleasures of the world, was that a part of it as well? Why he'd so easily made me second guess myself and how I felt about him? Well, he was still a jerk…just an erotically attractive jerk. He was just taking advantage of my hormones, I was a teenager – even if it was almost not true I hadn't turned twenty yet and wasn't it natural for me to like a good-looking asshole? Wasn't that something all girls had to go through? Maybe this was normal and I could logic my way out…then again it was really hard with his

My agonizing over my own unclear feelings and hormones was interrupted by the sensation of another power nearby, it was feint but I picked it out just before the wards beneath the floorboards activated, throwing back a figure in the shadows. Assassin then? I frowned at the idea of anyone seeing me…like this. Not that I was naked, but that I was tangled in the bed with Gilgamesh…with a wince I realized I was too tangled cause sparks continued to fly at the edge of the circle. Thankfully, for all the irritation he'd caused me Gilgamesh woke and jumped out, birthday suit and all to respond to the attacking spirit. Though his blades cut into my walls and knocked down the curtains around the balcony doors, letting in the low sun outside.

The sunset was placed just right between my servant and the doors that Gilgamesh's personal parts seemed to be glowing with light but I didn't just stare. I didn't have time to consider that convenient placement. Instead I pulled what I could of the sheets up around myself, trying to see what I could of my enemy. He was of an average male height and slim build, there was a vertical scar on his right cheek a few inches long, he had blue-grey eyes, black hair, and a cruel smile on his mouth as he danced backward out of the way. He was familiar somehow…but I couldn't quite place it. He was wearing a sharp suit instead of the armor many spirits had, he looked more like someone out of a movie set than a legendary spirit.

He was dodging around the swords shooting at him as he circled the room but Gilgamesh's tight control of his power was keeping him back from my bed even if he wasn't really doing much connecting there were a few that cut into the enemies suit. How had he known to attack me? Had Assassin seen what we'd done earlier, to Caster? At least he could have been close enough that in the swift passing of battle we wouldn't notice him. Was the war really going to pass this quickly? Unfortunately, this also meant someone knew I was a master and they knew where I lived…most wards couldn't be bypassed by any average Servant, but Assassin was traditionally great at going unnoticed until it was too late. The other grail forging families may have him…but I couldn't know which one. Then again, could there be other Masters that knew about me? More like Nostradamus with divination styled abilities? It seemed unlikely but I couldn't discount anything after today…

"Stop destroying my house!" I called out as I heard the shattering of glass.

The Assassin had continued to jump backward and out of the way of Gilgamesh's blades and as several broke my balcony doors the enemy slipped outside again. He pulled a small button from his sleeve and I frowned…had he set a bomb inside while he was hopping about? I was sure Gilgamesh would be fine, he'd crawled out of hell after all, myself I was less convinced about. Still, perhaps they'd forgotten that I was a magus, and that I wasn't to be taken lightly either. I called on my magic, curling myself in a cocoon of shielding a moment before the fire erupted through my bedroom. Whatever was happening between my Servant and the enemy I couldn't see it through the smoke and destruction. Why were people trying to destroy my house!?

This is bullshit.

I couldn't get concerned about my house though, already even a minor distraction in my thoughts was starting to make my shield fracture against the power of the blast. I did my best to focus on the shield and keeping its form as the room burned around me though some fire licked through along my leg where part of the shield had broken before I managed to reform it. Pain could be a good focus; my magic teachers had passed on that much. My body and shield both vibrating in response to the demolition around me. The sheets mostly breaking apart where outside my protection they were enveloped in flames. I folded in half as the roof came down on the bed, bending it as well…I managed to maintain my shield but only thanks to the extra mana I'd gotten in Gilgamesh's drugged wine but I wasn't sure how long it would last, I was covered in debris, wrapped in the tattered remnants of my sheet and finding it hard to focus enough to keep however many pounds that could be on top of me from crushing me beneath the weight.

I could also still feel the tug on my mana where Gilgamesh was unleashing his own form of fury on the enemy Servant. Maintaining my own power while being the battery manifesting his was draining me quickly. Watching was my only option as the bright light of my shield cracked and spider webbed along the length, it was let it go or stop Gilgamesh's assault…and that bastard had just destroyed my bedroom. At least the weight didn't kill me outright when the shield dropped but a sharp pain in my leg that had already been burned didn't bode well. I felt a sticky warmth along my calf, not really a good sign that something had pressed down enough to make me bleed.

I wasn't dead…yet…should I use a command seal to force Gilgamesh to help me? Of course, if I gave that sort of order now he could end up leaving his back open and since I tied him to the world he'd could make him leave his back open if I gave him that sort of an order mid-battle. I also didn't really want to waste a seal on something he was sort of forced to do anyway…he would have to help me if he wanted to stay here.

"Do you think your toys will save you?" I could hear my Servant's voice. It was muffled slightly but not so distant that I was quite as afraid. I could make it out clearly enough, his mocking the enemy while I was in here bleeding and being crushed by the ceiling of my bedroom. I looked around me, pondering how I could possibly move safely to dig myself out as opposed to waiting on him.

"Great, thanks a lot Gilgamesh, nice to know the last thing I might ever hear is your arrogant rubbish." I muttered as I lifted a board that didn't seem connected directly to the others.

"No, but even if you are still here, I expect your master won't last in a burning building so can you afford to chase me down?" The opposite Servant mocked. So, he came here to destroy my house and was just going to leave? Rude. I didn't have a lot of time to survey though, the enemy servant was right since I was still bleeding and if I bled too much I'd pass out. The opposite end of a board laying on me was still on fire after the blast and I really didn't want to just leave it on top of me since it was already warm. I pushed it to the side without causing a rain of other debris…enough that I could get my leg closer and wrap what was left of the tattered sheet around it…but it turned red pretty fast. It wasn't going to do much for the wound. Then I had to be careful cause there were all sorts of splintered rocks and wood around me…this was a bad time to be naked.

Stupid jerk Gilgamesh with his stupid jerk face and his stupid jerk games.

Nothing else on top of me was on fire that I could see, a good sign. There was still a lot of dust in the air and the sun was close to setting but I could still see a few rays displacing the motes in the air in a ray. A sign there was a way to the surface, it was only a couple feet away, that was better than I was expecting. Still, if I moved the wrong thing, the small opening I was lucky enough to end up in might disappear and I didn't know how much the boards above me might weight. I already felt dizzy, I was sure the only reason I wasn't cold was the fact that the building had just been roasted. I was coughing and nervous, not sure how to get free of this…but I needed to think fast before I couldn't act anymore and just passed out.

 **End Chapter**

The Assassin is such a dick. Running away and all after exploding Natsumi's house. Rude!

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

Not sure what I'm doing wrong here...no one leaves reviews. Is Fate just not that popular of a franchise fanfiction wise or am I just messing up somewhere?


	11. Believe

**Chapter Eleven:** ** _Believe_**

 _"Believe, when you lie. You will never need to recognize yourself. To deceive, to remove all chance of doubt and be received with your lie. The deception is complete when you concede and decide to reject your lives, sacrificed to me..."_

 **-Disturbed Lyrics,** ** _Believe_**

 ** _Gilgamesh –_**

 _Assassins. They've always been one my least favorite designators of mongrels in the wars. There was little worth in a vile wretch whose only skillset was clandestine blades or slipped poisons. Not that they lacked a skillset, most of them had trained extensively in the art of being valueless puppets of ignoble masters. In the end, they were cheap, replaceable tools who would always have some other derelict soul lined up behind them when they inevitably fell. The Assassin class was forged of the scum of the earth, whose only battle skill was through treachery or deceit._

I was more than content to wipe this grinning cretin clean of the world but he was unfortunately accurate this time. I could feel the mana draining from my mongrel faster than I would like. The girl was probably injured, another sign of her fragility but one I had to deal with all the same. I allowed the knave another day to his life, I would simply end it later and with a few last blasts shot after him returned to the building. The bedroom we'd been inside was all but disintegrated, though surrounding rooms had survived well enough and the scattered fires that remained weren't large. The issue was that much of the debris that had fallen had left the room covered. Did I really have to sift through this like some beggar? This mongrel was such trouble.

Thankfully I heard her coughing so that narrowed it down, I moved some of the smaller boards before pushing off a larger chunk of the roof that had been angled precariously enough. Thankfully, it was simple enough to see where things would end up if moved in a certain order. She was still coughing, and very much without her clothes, those had gone up in the blast. Her left leg had what was saved of her sheet wrapped around it but it was clear first aid was one of the many things she was unschooled in. She would have died a half dozen times by now had I not been here to make up for her many inadequacies.

"Where were you?" She was looking at me as she asked but she did sound unsure. Her face and expression were softer than her usual anger. Her eyes were distant and dilated. Her skin was sweating despite the cool out here, the moisture mixing with the dust in the air to make her look the part of a mongrel more than usual. She was still bleeding; the debris had left a mark and cut into an artery in her leg. She was coherent enough to scream and whimper when I put a burning blade against the wound to cauterize it, but she lost consciousness a moment later.

Better if she stayed unconscious. She wouldn't be as aware of her pain, and I wouldn't have to hear her barking. I leaned down, sliding one arm under her shoulders and carefully putting the other under her legs. I could have an exceptionally light touch when I liked, but no amount of physical grace was going to stop the pain that came when I moved her injured limb. She didn't wake but she let out a small cry and ran her fingers against my armor, searching for something to hold onto. I'd forgive her needy behavior given she was going into shock, I let the armor fade to the casual clothing I wore and immediately her fingers grasped into the linen weakly.

It couldn't be helped. It would further drain her but walking her to a hospital was out of the question. I left her in in the hall of the emergency room, vanishing before a nurse saw me. I didn't like to not be in physical form but were I visible to the mongrels rushing over to help her they would incessantly ask questions. They couldn't fix her if I killed them for impertinence. Instead I was considering this new Servant, a rare skill set. He'd been using guns and explosives instead of any martial arms. Was he another spirit from the future then? Possibly not, guns and explosives weren't a recent change in human history.

They had her on a stretcher now and were rushing her to fix her leg, adding wires and poking her with needles. She was still unconscious, her already unstable state matched with being moved so quickly had been enough that waking would be difficult. Likely a mercy since they were taking her to stitch her leg back together. She'd undoubtedly have a scar but there shouldn't be any lasting damage judging by the discussion between the mongrels, she hadn't even broken any bones according to their scans. I would have to wait until she was more stable to materialize unfortunately.

 ** _Natsumi –_**

I wasn't sure when I'd passed out. I know it was after the debris had been moved. I vaguely remembered Gilgamesh standing over me, looking irked. Were his only two settings evil smirk and resting bitch face? I wasn't in my bedroom now. I wasn't dressed exactly but there was a hospital smock that had been pulled over me. It was better than where I'd started…my leg ached and moving the blankets over me with more effort than it should. There was less blood than I remembered but the stiches explained the ache. They'd given me some sort of pain medication then. There was still an I.V. in my left wrist. I groaned as I pulled myself a bit more upright, pushing the call button several times.

I had to get discharged. I was a target just sitting here in the hospital. I reached up to grab my I.V. but a familiar voice stopped me before I pulled it out.

"Probably shouldn't remove that on your own, you'll end up in need of more stitches given your poor understanding of medicine." He was sitting in one of the nearby chairs on…my phone? Had he gone back for it? Before or after he brought me to the hospital? No, I'd rather not know since I can assume…wait, was he playing candy crush? I closed my eyes, wishing I'd have just stayed asleep, this was just bizarre. "What happened?"

"I had to allow the Assassin to escape so I could bring you here." He stated without looking at me, still staring at his game. "They put you together but you have been sleeping since last night."

"You kept me at the hospital all night?" I frowned at him, sitting up a bit more, wincing when I moved my leg more than I should and shocks of pain shot up my calf. "Don't you think if they blew up my house they would know to check in here?"

"Assassin is, as they all are, a coward, if I'm here he won't approach again." Gilgamesh stated confidently, still moving candies on my phone without looking at me. So, he did like video games then? Odd considering what he was like…I wouldn't have predicted that he'd spend his time playing candy crush. "As for the others, there was another fight in the city but as I was here, I couldn't leave to investigate."

"You stayed here watching over me?" I was a bit surprised, reaching along the nearby stand to grab a water the nurse had left, taking a sip. It was tap, lukewarm, and tasted horrible but I took a second sip anyway. I felt dry…was that a side effect of blood loss? I didn't know, I never studied much medicine as he was so quick to point out.

"Don't let it go to your head, you are my tether here. It reflects poorly on me to allow your death. As it is, I am prepared to finish the insect when next we cross him." I could see the rectangular reflection of the phone in his eyes, making them almost seem to glow across the dark room.

"Yeah well, if you were that good at knowing he was there why did my bedroom get roasted?" I remarked sharply. I set the cup to the side after another drink, fumbling with the bed control a moment before I got my back to move up so I could see better.

"It would take more time than I'd like to invest to list the many imperfections of your family line." Gilgamesh didn't even pretend a second as though his not just finishing Assassin sooner instead of mocking him could have been at all to blame. Was he blaming my grandmother's wards now? No, no…I wouldn't snap at him and make him second guess this safeguarding my life thing. I took a deep breath, let it out, then took another one. I could do this…I could finish this war and wish this uppity jerk right back into his prison before washing my hands of anything to do with the grail war ever, ever again…that would be a great new wish for the unapologetic prick.

"The mongrel that keeps checking on you every few hours said you should be able to leave once you are awake. You should prepare so when the mongrels are done we can be on the move." He still hadn't even looked at me, frowning at his game. Apparently, the great Gilgamesh could fail at something…I had to appreciate his losing at candy crush since he so rarely gave much indication of any flaw other than the massive amount of space he needed for his ego. He must have meant the nurse.

"What do you mean…I doubt I'll be doing much walking like this." I answered. "It would be better to lay low so I can recover than…"

I paused as he placed my phone back on my bed. I didn't jump but only because I still feel high on whatever pain meds they gave me. I frowned at him all the same but as per the usual, he didn't seem to care. "It would be better to finish Assassin now that we know he is targeting you than wait. I did some reading while you were asleep I am fairly sure he's not even a real spirit. Besides, they said your bones weren't broken?"

"What do you mean?" I picked back up my glass of less than good water, bad was better than nothing. My leg sure felt broken even if he said it wasn't. "Is that just another way to call him a mongrel or is he actually fake?"

I'd heard of a fake spirit in another war, just some creature that had been fabricated instead of a real person. Saber had fought him at some point, a Samerai brought to life just by some person's obsession? It was hard to say what would have caused it but it wasn't unheard of.

"James Bond." Gilgamesh remarked.

"Wait, what? The fictional character?" Sadly, I could see him functioning in the capacity of the spirits, and it did explain the way he looked and the more modern tools he'd used. I thought he'd seemed familiar, who hadn't read or seen a Bond film at some point in their life.

James fucking Bond was trying to kill me now? What had I done to earn any of this karmically?

 _Bring a devil back from hell…_

I ignored my tiny sarcastic voice in my head.

This seemed unfair. Wasn't Bond known for defeating some guy all made of gold or something? Somehow it didn't bode well. Not to mention I was far from peak condition, would Gilgamesh even be able to summon Ea? Did he need to? James Bond wasn't magical in any of his books best I knew…he was a super spy but he'd already done the explosive assassination thing and I'd gotten out with just a temporarily bum leg.

"Here." He offered me the same cup as before, same liquid.

"I just almost bled out, I probably shouldn't be drinking wine." I wasn't a medical professional but I was pretty sure that was right, also, I knew I was still on pain meds.

"You aren't bleeding now, they put other blood in you. You'll need the mana, drink it." He didn't move his hand and I hesitantly accepted the glass. Was he trying to turn me into an alcoholic as well, was that step one in his plan to make me his weird assistant? I sipped it all the same, it was far tastier than the lukewarm water at least.

"So, how do you expect me to hobble with you on a bum leg for you to hunt the best Servant at hiding?" I asked over the glass, taking another sip. At least he gave me something that tasted nice and it was even chilled. "How is it you get it cold? Do you have refrigeration in that vault of yours? When you go back to the Throne of Heroes is it just endless hallways of your stuff piled everywhere like a magical version of the Hoarders show?"

I could picture just a few rooms full of swords tossed inside that worked for where he called all his blades from when he opened gates. I was, a bit high and sipping his mana wine…not the best combination. Would my liver survive the grail war? I was rambling more than I should but he looked more amused than offended at my line of questions…then now that I looked he had another wine glass as well. "Do you just have some endless decanter that makes this stuff?"

"I have much at my disposal but at times I do need to restock my vault but there is little I can't reclaim, albeit some things are more challenging than others." He accommodated my questioning better than I thought he would. Maybe he was planning not to blame me since I was even slurring my words just a little. I could hear it but it was hard to fix. He pulled a stool nearby to the side of my bed and sat down. "My palace cannot be compared to any mongrel's hovel. There are treasures throughout it beyond just the void, and anything that I owned or come to own I can call to myself."

"Still hard to imagine." I went with instead of describing my mental image of him having a thousand closets filled to the brim with weaponry of various kinds. Did he have an army of cleaners in there just to polish all of his loot? "I suppose it must be beautiful though. I wish I could see it sometime."

I wasn't lying. While I didn't have any plans to become his servant after he was done being mine I expected the Palace of Bablyon must be very impressive. He was watching me intently, more than I was used to him seeming to have an interest unless it was to command me about for food or berate me so I glanced down at my lap. I was fiddling with my blanket between my fingers, a bit nervous after what happened – before my bedroom was literally filled with flame it had been figuratively stifling. I still was a bit unsure how I felt. Maybe it was just because I was a teenager, but all the same it wasn't easy to just stop my heart from racing when he stared.

"I expect you will, particularly after you give yourself to me as an attendant." He answered glancing toward the city, still speaking of my servitude as some sort of foregone conclusion. It might have been attractive, his confidence, if I wasn't the topic of his conquest. "If you would rather I not bring you on the attack of the Assassin, I can leave you here."

"You aren't funny…you don't know where he is and you can't go that far." I replied to his 'alternative' less than happy with his comments. I didn't even know where to start protesting all of the things wrong with becoming some sort of assistant.

"Then use a seal…I'll make short work of him and return." Gilgamesh stated with a shrug.

"No, of course not." I shook my head. "Why would I do that? It is something we can wait for, we don't need to rush into things unnecessarily."  
"If you are that concerned with your seals order me to return the Master to force him to give you his seals before I finish him." Gilgamesh said, as though such a detailed order was possible. I thought most orders had to be at least a little concise? Then, my last order had worked. Why did he care so much? Was he just offended Assassin had interrupted him feeling me up? I guess I didn't really want to even bring that up, I'd rather pretend it never happened. As it was I had to convince him I wasn't just going to go anywhere with him after this. I had to admit, he'd tempted me more than I liked, and I still didn't know what I wanted there. For now, just not to be alone with him was good enough, hopefully I'd have some time to myself to think this all through eventually. It was a bit late, I could feel my face flushing a bit and I took another draw of the wine. He wasn't giving me that smug expression so maybe he thought it was just the alcohol…one good fortune in this river of poor luck.

"I guess that's viable…but I'd still rather be a bit more recovered before I just send you out without me." I answered. "I trust your ability to get the job done but while you are busy some other Master and Servant could take a go at me and I'd rather at least have more mana where I could use my spells. Right now, I doubt I could summon enough to help myself against another magus, more or less a Servant no matter what type they are."

He was quiet a time, watching me. I wasn't sure if he'd accept my reasoning or dismiss it and insist I order him to find and return Assassin's master to force him to give me any command seals before killing Assassin and his master. I was less concerned about killing someone else after they blew up my house and tried to take me with it. The repairs would be incredible and I'd have to go to a backup house once we left the hospital. All in all, I was pretty frustrated with Assassin so at least Gilgamesh did want to kill him, that much I could get behind.

Gilgamesh seemed about ready to speak before the nurse came back in to check on me. I couldn't really discuss anything related to the grail war after that as she started to ply me with questions and information. They were planning to discharge me soon so there was a lot to go over. I had to juggle trying to take it all in while Gilgamesh returned to playing candy crush. At least he didn't start calling the hospital staff languid mongrels for having to wait to be discharged…

While we waited for the final discharge orders to be fully typed up I sighed. "We'll need to stop by a pharmacy and I have another place we can go so perhaps I can get some rest."

"Oh?" He asked curiously.

"I didn't want to use it this soon but my family owns a house near the beach. It's been reinforced along with another safe house specifically if future generations needed it for the grail war." I explained.

"How much do you expect it to help against Assassin?" Gilgamesh was being rhetorical, I knew that Assassin had already snuck past the wards at the main house, and those were probably more complex than any at the secondary safe houses. I knew what he was implying.

"I can't do much walking yet but they said I should be able to do small things." I answered. I had used the restroom on my own in the middle of us discussing things since I needed to after all the water and wine. I hadn't fractured anything…and the stitches shouldn't pull free unless I overdo it. I could walk, just not run any marathons. I was drugged and tired but I knew he wasn't going to let this go, with a resigned sigh I finally agreed. "Fine, we can go look for Assassin first…well second, the pharmacy still happens first. But, we'll need to get a car. I can't be having you just teleporting us all over the place wasting my mana."

"I'll take care of it." Gilgamesh stated, glancing up at me from the game before setting the phone next to me. I could see several chains happening in a row, more than certain to beat the level with many stars. Of course, why wouldn't he be good at any video games he tried as well. Wait, he was being nice. He'd take care of it?

"No stealing any cars or hurting humans." I stated as he headed toward the door.

"You think I would need to? When you're done meet me downstairs." He didn't look back and was beyond my ability to reasonably protest further. Ugh. I suppose I didn't have any choice but to believe in him. He was my Servant now after all, I couldn't just back away. Besides, he was more than capable. I know that I got mad at him sometimes but he could still win me this war, I had no doubt about that much at the very least. Where we would go after it was over? We'd have to cross that bridge when we reached it, I expected we both had a different view of how this would end up.

I sighed as I got dressed, my leg still hurt a lot but I could walk on it even uncomfortably. While I didn't really want to go chasing after another Servant, I understood his reasoning for wanting to press. It was logical enough, how could I trust resting at any safe house after my bedroom was made short work of? Still, I was a bit nervous as to what he might be doing now. I knew Servants could drive any vehicles they would need to but how was he planning to get us one?

Little to be done about it now. I glanced at my phone planning to make a call or two to see about setting up some deliveries to my secondary house. That call didn't happen, instead I was staring at the phone and sputtered in irritation.

300$!?

He'd spent 300$?! On freaking extra items in candy crush!

"GILGAMESH!" I cried out in irritation, ignoring the shocked look the nurse was giving me. That rat bastard just started spending all my money, like I hadn't already donated enough when I summoned him! I…ugh…I almost thought to myself that he wasn't that bad. Nevermind, that was wrong, I hate that selfish, pompous, insufferable…golden blockhead!

 **End Chapter**

Well, I wasn't going to quit writing…in case anyone was concerned XD. I enjoy writing for Gilgamesh and tormenting poor Natsumi. This was only on delay a few days cause I've been too busy irl to do much typing the past several days. I'm coming up to the end of my term so very busy school wise.

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

 _Ashley_ – I appreciate that. I wasn't going to stop. I was just curious if I'd offended someone somewhere…I pretty much write what I feel like regardless of reviews but I'll make extra comments in this section if I have none. Thanks though I'm glad you like it. : )

 _Zorobak_ – LOL, well you get that Gilgamesh is a main character here yes? I mean, he'll still have his own bad luck sometimes but overall my plans aren't to leave him killed or overly humiliated. Just to warn you.

 _Russianprincess_ – I mostly like the combat and Gilgamesh to be honest with you. Fate has a fun premise but it seems to fall short at times on its potential. I'm glad you like my story though!

 _Shii_ – I try to justify changes in behavior as best I can but I feel the somewhat speedy connection fits with some of the fate games I've played. I've also gotten complaints here and there about going too slow in other fics. I'd say Gilgamesh doesn't really have any sort of traditional warm fuzzy feelings XD.


	12. Over and Over

**Chapter Twelve:** **_Over and Over_**

 _"I feel it every day, it's all the same. It brings me down, but I'm the one to blame. I've tried everything to get away. So here I go again…chasing you down again…why do I do this?"_

 **\- Three Days Grace Lyrics,** **_Over and Over_**

 _Animals always lash out when injured, no matter how well trained (or not in this case) they are. I didn't blame my mongrel for her barking or attempted nips at my heels. She was both harmed and on human medications that would possibly make her act differently or at the very least less controlled. Her actions were loud and uncultivated but in this case not entirely the fault of her poor upbringing. She wore her heart on her sleeve less than some of my Servants, but she wasn't that difficult to read all the same. Her resolve was obvious anytime I mentioned her becoming my assistant, the slight tightening of her jaw or eyes, twitches of her fingers…she probably made some of her motions subconsciously but I noted them all the same. Not that I minded her willful behavior, the best horses were once the hardest to break in._

 ** _Natsumi –_**

I wanted to march down and give him a talking to about just spending my money but instead I had to sign a bunch of papers and carry my stuff down while trying not to move too fast and hurt my stiches. I ended up being less angry than I would have liked by the time I reached the exit, though I was still unhappy with his wasteful spending seeing him standing next to a motorcycle paused that line of thought and I shook my head as I approached. "No, no way. You and I need to talk. First, no just buying anything you want on my phone, unlike you I have limited funding. Secondly, I am not going to…hey, stop!"

"Quit barking mongrel." Gilgamesh interrupted me by lifting me up and setting me on the back of the motorcycle. I flailed a moment but let him put me down, preferring that to him touching me. I really didn't want to ride on this thing though. He put a leather jacket over my arms and I blinked, surprised at his thinking about me that far ahead too much to protest slipping my arms through. He had on a jacket as well, and a helmet. Of course, both his helmet and the bike had lines of gold detailing…he handed me a helmet a moment later.

"Don't buy anything else on my phone!" I repeated, still frustrated at his spending, that would really cut into my funds for the month. Sure, I had trusts thanks to my family name but until I turned twenty-one I only got so much to spend each month and I was well through this months' budget. I doubted the bank would take my explanation of an abusive Servant in the grail war for an excuse – since I couldn't tell them the truth at all.

"Don't concern yourself with it, put the helmet on." Gilgamesh looked utterly nonplussed about the topic and I was tempted to try to choke him then and there but instead did as he asked, putting the helmet on…hoping he couldn't notice my blush behind the face shield as he buckled it in place for me. "There, you'll need to get on behind me and hold on to me tightly."

Exactly the reason I didn't want to use a motorcycle, why did he want to ride one of these anyway? What happened to him not having tried many modern things? Was this just conveniently one of the ones he had? I wasn't left with a choice either way, after he got on I had to slip closer and put my arms around him, I didn't have much of a seat, more or less hand rails of my own to hold onto. I hadn't grabbed that tightly at first, but after he revved the engine and pulled smoothly and quickly away from the curb I pulled myself closer to him as much out of surprise for the sudden speed as it was a motion of safety. He weaved through the other cars nearby the hospital entrance and turned onto the road. It was seemingly simple for him to turn even though I wasn't doing much other than being dead weight clinging for dear life.

The entire contraption shook and vibrated both of us as I clung to him, my eyes pressed shut as tightly as my body was to his back. I didn't like this at all, it was terrifying…didn't he know I'd just been in a terrible accident? My leg ached but there were no sudden shocks of pain as I was fearing there would be if he slammed us into something. In truth, he seemed quite a good driver, not that I had a lot of experience to go with. It was several seconds after we had stopped that I was able to let go, realizing we'd not just come to a stop light but to the pharmacy. He had come here first, just as I'd asked him too. Maybe he didn't always listen to exactly what I wanted, but at least he got me what I needed. He even got off to help me off the back of the bike.

"Uh…thanks…" I mentioned as I handed over the helmet. After digging the folded prescription out of my pocket with my wallet I headed toward the inside. Thank god there were jeans in the clothes he'd brought me…a purse probably would have lost everything in all that. …then again, he probably had planned this bike thing. He did seem to really enjoy our close contact after all. I hobbled in to put in my prescription trying not to think about being pressed up against him all the time.

"Wow Natsumi, is that a Suzuki Hayabusa?" Kenji's voice drew me out of my distracted thoughts and I offered a tired smile. "Wait, are you okay?"

"There was an accident at the house, a small fire…I hurt my leg but I'm all right otherwise." I assured quickly when a worried expression came to the boys face. "My friend helped me. I uh, do need this filled though."

"Of course, of course." Kenji said, jumping to take my script and moving to put it into the computer. I was in the system, I'd lived here all my life after all. "I'd heard there was something going on but I was distracted at school all day with work, I'm really sorry Natsumi, I should have checked on you at the hospital. If you want I can bring you some dinner."

"No, it's fine, no worries." I answered as sweetly as I could. For being a bit nerdy, Kenji had always been a good friend and a kind guy. I know he worried about me. I suppose I could have texted him but I've been busy too. Not that I could tell him why. "I won't be at the estate while the repairs are taking place. I'm gonna be staying with my friend."

"The guy with the super fast bike?" Kenji glanced back outside. "Do I know him? He's not from our school."

"Yeah, he's older than us." I said. It wasn't a lie, he was much older than we were.

"Oh, you going out with a college boy Natsumi?" Kenji grinned at me, looking at Gilgamesh outside more curiously. "I guess he's probably the sort of person girls find cute."

"We aren't dating…he's a family friend." I answered, that was more of a lie but still mutably so…I preferred to tell at least part truths, it made having to be dishonest a little easier. "He just moved back to the area after a long time. His family knew my grandmother and great-grandfather."

"Oh. Okay…if you insist…but you are blushing." Kenji stated, apparently enjoying teasing me. I pouted at him and he laughed. "Hahaha, calm down Natsumi, I think it's a good thing. I've never seen you like a guy before."

"I…I don't like him. He's annoying and intolerable but I have to have a ride and somewhere to stay. Really though, who brings a motorcycle to pick up someone with an injured leg." I snapped, not used to him having ammunition to taunt me with – usually I was the one picking on Kenji about his girlfriends. He laughed at my small rant.

"Sounds to me like you two get along okay, or at least that you've known each other a while. Besides, a guy brings a ride like that so a girl has to hold onto him. Come on Natsumi, you know that much." Kenji replied. "More seriously though, if you need help you can ask. I know we aren't best of friends really but I don't live that far."

"I know, thanks Kenji." I said with a smile. "I'll remember that. I just don't like to impose."

"Okay, yeah, well I know you'd rather spend the time with your boyfriend anyway. Here, this is your order." He stated with a grin as he set the bag down. "I hope you two have fun…but not too much with your hurt leg and all."

…

"Gee, thanks." I answered, sighing at my poor luck. Of course, it would be while Kenji was working that we'd come by and of course he'd see Gilgamesh. Did we really look like a couple? I suppose when I was riding on his death trap with him we had to. I had known Kenji since we were kids, we weren't super close as much lately but it had been a friendly enough conversation. Gah, I didn't want people thinking I was dating this jerk…or that this was the sort of personality I liked. Then again, I didn't really know what I liked. Ugh, why did he have to be so pretty anyway? I shoved the bag at him angrily as I reached the bike. I felt a moment of smugness over the flicker of surprise on his face.

"Put that in your side bag or whatever you have, I can't hold onto it and not fall off this horrible thing." I snapped more aggressively than I meant to before taking my helmet to put on. I climbed back onto the contraption and kicked myself mentally. I had to stop letting this guy get to me. That was a part of the problem, if he realized why I was mad I'd never live it down. He didn't say anything however, uncharacteristically he just put up with my fit, put my prescription in a small compartment and prepared to leave. I'd probably pay for all this later. I pressed up close again, not at all happy with this means of travel but at least he'd kept me alive so far.

"Do you sense him anywhere?" Gilgamesh asked, not moving the bike right away despite having started it. Ugh. Kenji was surely watching…this was embarrassing. Did he really have to start the bike before deciding to talk or was this just punishing me for being short. Probably, the jerk seemed to be able to read my mind sometimes.

"No, Assassin does sort of hide, like it's in his job description…and well if he really is James Bond, fake spirit or not…I don't see how you expect me to find him just by trying to sense him. As it is I'm drugged and my magical awareness isn't exactly at a peak." I stated, annoyed he hadn't left already. "I thought you'd be able to find him what with all your big talk."

"I can but it will be more time consuming. Hold on." He remarked, and I had little time to grab him before he backed out and pulled us out of the parking lot and into traffic with several terrifying horns going on around us. Oh god, I had pissed him off then…he was just going to terrorize me with fear to get me to be quiet…which I did. I pressed my eyes shut and gripped for dear life as he started going at speeds even faster than before. I didn't dare look, my stomach felt like it was in my throat, my whole chest was attempting to beat like some hummingbirds and my leg ached from the rigidness that had taken over my body. This was horrible!

I was going to die in a motorcycle accident because I couldn't just bite my tongue and be nicer to the Servant that held my life in his hands. Sure, I didn't like him, and he was all around an atrocious person, but I needed to remember that while he was utterly abominable, he was how I was staying alive…or not in this case. I felt us go airborne and just pressed harder into his back instead of looking at what the hell he might be doing. I was going to die clinging to my worthless pretentious psychopath of a Servant!

I was convinced my life would end any moment, in a flourish of blind pain and terror. Certainly, my leg shot shocks of pain up my thigh when the bike landed, but the expected crash and burn didn't happen. After a few moments, I realized that we had come to an idle, and Gilgamesh was stopping. I'd lived! I was alive! I would kiss the ground if it wasn't so painful to move. It took me a moment even after we'd paused to let go of my grip, rubbing my hands and arms after the long time leaving them tight. We were in the woods? It was overlooking a small home.

"What's going on?" I asked quietly, not sure if that was the home of the Master that had sent Assassin to kill me. It was hard to think of the guy as James Bond. I didn't sense anything but I was a bit worse for wear now.

"He's inside. He's watching over his Master while he rests. He's less of a threat than the others." Gilgamesh stated in a low voice. As if his crimson gaze could see through the walls of the small building below, hell, for all I knew it could. The other Master was a guy then? I could see that; James Bond was more written for guys than women. I frowned all the same. Wait, others?

I then glanced behind us. I could feel another spirit coming in…no more than one – two more? There were 4 Servants of the grail war near. There were two spirits coming in and still we had Assassin too? They were working together, they had to be. They'd wanted us to come here. I knew we should have waited! I was pushed back by Gilgamesh as he paused a spear thrown from the forest…Lancer then? Or another spirit type that just had a spear as a weapon. Oh lord, this was bad. Gilgamesh was strong but could he really take three other spirits on his own?

 **End Chapter**

I am always a bit surprised when people tell me my chapters are super short. I mean…they aren't as long as some but since anytime I look up fiction the average chapter size seems to be like 800-1200 words I don't think they're -that- short. I rarely post chapters shorter than 2k. XD

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

 _Holix_ – LOL, yeah, he doesn't really have the best review for the Assassin class. They would get 1 out of 5 stars on the Grail War Yelp.

 _Anthem_ – Heh yeah, Gilgamesh is sort of a 'free spender' hahaha. Thanks for the Assassin compliment. I actually don't think James Bond would be super great or powerful as a Servant (lacking all the mystical greatness of many others XD) but all the same it was too fun an idea to pass up. And he did sneak past even Gilgamesh for a while there so that's impressive by itself.


	13. Immortal

**Chapter Thirteen:** **_Immortal_**

 _"I need the rush. There's no where you can hide before you die. Why won't you face me? I can see the fear that's in your eyes. I know who you are. The leader of lost souls. You can't kill me. I'm immortal."_

 **-Adema Lyrics,** ** _Immortal_**

 _What was it the human commercials at the hospital had called it? Some sort of emotional disorder they were trying to sell a new drug for. My mongrel fit the description they'd given for it. She would be perfectly fine one moment and the next angry and yelling or acting out. Was this because she had lacked a good parental figure? I couldn't imagine Emiya had done the best job raising her if she had gone against all his wishes and summoned me back. I didn't mind that part, but the lack of discipline was telling in her day to day actions and her choices. I would let it slide for now, as she was still injured, but she would pay me back for these disrespects one day, I had a running tally that was getting quite high. In the meanwhile, I had a job to do and with her trip finished I could start tracking Assassin, she was little help but I didn't need her to do so. She was shocked that there were multiple Servants approaching but I'd known it was a possibility. Just as well, I could finish all of them right now…did they think this would be enough for me? Fools._

 _Whatever rules might apply to other Servants, few of those applied to me._

 ** _Natsumi –_**

A moment later a woman burst out of the woods toward us, she had symbols on her face and along her skin, tattoos or painted? It was hard to tell since they looked slightly smudged I guess they were painted on. The woman glared at us both, calling her spear back to her hand, it seemed to move at her will, that couldn't be good. She began to launch forward again, but she was looking at Gilgamesh and not me…

It was sort of nice not to be the main target for the first time this war but the girl was frightening to observe all the same. Red hair billowed around her face like a curly mane and she roared before diving forward again…though her motion was cut short as chains curled out of gates to wrap around her limbs and chest. As the chains held her another woman came in from the side, striking at Gilgamesh with another spear. They both wielded spears? Had he not used his chains he probably would have been cut but he'd also called a blade and blocked the woman pressing in on him with the spear, using more swords from his gates to push her away from him.

This was getting serious fast, I stumbled back and hid behind the motorcycle, putting it between me and the battle. I could feel the mystical presences of the Servant's now, it felt like I might be crushed with the pressure of them. I peeked around the wheel in fear at the woman raging against the chains that held her, bursts of energy coming from her. She was crushing her arms and legs more by fighting but she didn't seem to care. Beserker then instead of Lancer? That would be my guess…but then who was this other woman? Was she Lancer or were there going to be more spear's in the mix this round of the grail war?

"Cowardly tactics by those that know themselves incapable of destroying me." Gilgamesh sounded miffed as he spoke to the woman. I suppose it must get old when people keep trying to get you from behind like that. "Do you think two or three of you is enough for me?"

Or it was just his ego again…

"It isn't my way to attack from behind but I was directed to by my Master and I had no choice. Boudicca, are you all right?" The woman was holding her ground, speaking instead of continuing the combat since her initial strike hadn't worked out I guess she might as well speak to him now? She had long blonde hair and bright blue eyes narrowed on Gilgamesh, her features were European…strong…German or Danish perhaps? I didn't know much of how to tell westerners apart honestly…

"I am fine, no man will hold me like this…" The red-haired woman hissed, she was still pulling the chains taunt, they were certainly stressed but Gilgamesh didn't look that concerned that they would break. There was a wall of gold that reached well into the sky behind him, several of the rippling gates had appeared near me as well but the blades weren't pointed at me. It was a protective gesture. The pure number of them was the frightening part, normally he summoned a few dozen…but this was dizzying…there had to be hundreds of them reaching into the sky as far as I could see by how close I was. A shimmering embankment of promised injury.

Yet, not all of the blades were released at once. Instead he shot a few more blades toward only the Beserker, held as she was she didn't have a chance to dodge them. However, the second woman leapt over to defend the first. Still, there were enough blades that neither had escaped fully unscathed, each had lines of blood drawn here and there where the Lancer couldn't block all the incoming weaponry completely, several of the weapons were stuck in the earth around her. It was impressive she'd defended as well as she had. It wasn't enough, if he'd of rained all of the weapons on them at once neither likely would have survived. For all his claims to me that he was serious, he hadn't already pulled out Ea…or taken the extra step to finish them so I remained skeptical. He was toying with them…like a cat with a mouse before the kill…he enjoyed this part of the battle…drawing it out, seeing the horror on his enemies faces. I could feel that much from our connection, he was having fun…

"Boudicca? The Celtic general that lead an uprising against the romans, a fitting enough Beserker considering she murdered her way across the British Isles like a plague. Pretty too, a pity I don't have the time to properly bankrupt her of that fire." Gilgamesh remarked, vanishing and reappearing close enough to the Beserker to lift up her chin, as he had done to me recently, but this time he was using the point of his blade, not the hilt. "How does it feel to have a man show you again just how feeble you are?"

"Leave her!" The spear weilder jumped at him but was caught a moment as her clothing had been held by some of Gilgamesh's blades. Just long enough that Gilgamesh had time to block lazily, a sword shooting downward and through the spear welders knee from behind. It didn't take the limb off completely but it didn't look good. To the Lancer's credit she didn't fall.

"A strange loyalty considering where you'll end up even if you two were to be the last," Gilgamesh pointed out, "were you to kill me, who would kill who first? I'd expect Boudicca, she does have a history for horribly disfiguring her enemies. Still, you put forward effort…what is your name Lancer? It is only fair I know who I'm about to kill." Gilgamesh was asking in honest politeness as opposed to mockery, I could tell from his tone if not his words. For all his pride, he still offered some small measures of respect to the other Servants – well, this one at least. Beserker, obviously not…

"I am the Queen of Zealand, Hetha." She announced, putting her spear in front of her and favoring her leg that wasn't still bleeding. Gilgamesh's sword had disappeared after the blow, but the damage was already done. "I will not allow you to just murder my troops or speak down to Boudicca because you are a man."

"My gender has nothing to do with it…you were doomed to destruction the moment you raised a blade to me." Gilgamesh replied haughtily. I kept to myself that he was just mocking Boudicca about his gender, he could hypocrisy it up all he wanted as long as he won. "Here, I'll pay you the respect of showing you my personal weapon."

He began to reach for another portal, and I knew what was coming. The puzzle like key that would unlock Ea…

"Might want to stop there." The voice, I recognized it a second too late…the feel of a cold blade against my neck was unwelcome but there was little I could do as I was pulled up from behind the motorcycle. The third Servant, the one we'd come for, I'd forgotten him while watching the battle. Dammit! "I appreciate all your magical strength but it won't do you any good once your Master's throat is cut."

James Bond was an asshole. I could only stare at the other women, even if he was sort of gambling me off to Gilgamesh, he might end up just killing me anyway. Gilgamesh had paused, though hundreds of gates still levitated in the air, at the ready.

"Bond, stop it!" Hetha called out. "It is not the law of the war to kill Masters – we Servants fight."

"Well, this war doesn't seem balanced in the first place. I'm just evening the odds." Bond said, unapologetic about taking a hostage. "Put your little trump card away or I put you away."

"Fine, I need not Ea to kill you all." Gilgamesh hissed, despite his words I could tell he was pretty unhappy about this change to the battlefield. I swallowed subconsciously, trying not to shiver since even that much movement and I'd cut my own throat. Then, what none of us expected happened.

"LEAVE HER ALOOOOONNEE!" Beserker's shriek was infused with hate and vengeance, it made my hairs stand on end. She broke through the chains that had been called to hold her – but instead of attacking Gilgamesh she ran at me and Bond, throwing her spear again. I thought I was about to be killed but her spear slammed into Bond's shoulder, knocking him away from me. My neck took a cut still, deep enough that I could feel blood gush out over my hand. "You would think to save me by harming a daughter? You are no ally! Men can never be true allies of women! You are all the scum he is!"

She was insane, that was clear…but I stared in surprise as even though Bond was trying to keep up – he just couldn't. He wasn't built for the style of combat Beserker was. I could only watch from a few feet away as he did get a couple stabs in on Boudicca's midsection but she was ruthless and mad with anger. Stabbing him with her spear, or slashing him, or slamming him with the blunt end all so quickly it was a blur to follow. She was screaming and her words had gone from understandable to some other language I didn't understand as she continued to laid into him with all the fury only a Beserker could muster. I swallowed as I watched it, it was brutal…hands, limbs, organs, she was trying to break, tear, or otherwise mutilate every piece of Bond. If I wasn't frozen in panic and dread at what I was seeing, then I probably would have started vomiting…

I finally tore my eyes away when she pressed the blunt end of her weapon against his head with all her strength. I felt a splash of blood that wasn't mine still pouring down around my neck…hit my chest and cheek after a sick popping sound. Then I realized I'd been moved. I had been lifted and relocated. Gilgamesh had me in his arms, one under my back and one under my legs. At first, he'd gone quiet, as had Hetha, even the other Servants had only been able to numbly watch the gruesome scene as I had. Now though he'd pulled me up enough to press me into a kiss, parting my lips with his mouth. I couldn't protest, I was certainly too weak…and fluid came from his mouth into mine. He was feeding me something? I didn't have much choice but to swallow, though I was coughing as he pulled away I felt stronger…there wasn't still a steady gush of blood coming from my neck…

He'd given me something else to save me then? I felt better than a moment ago, stronger…but I was also still afraid. I was nervous suddenly, my hairs that had stood slightly on end with the approach of other Servants, now seemed intent on escaping my body from the volatile static that had entered the air. While Gilgamesh was holding me tightly, I could feel the slight shutter in his chest, anger made manifest in his following words.

"You mutter of honor…of having a way that is unlike your masters…yet you work with that man to attack my Master and betray your own ally! No, it is better he stopped me from summoning Ea, you are unworthy of her." Gilgamesh didn't sound entertained any longer. Anytime I thought he might be angry at me before this was brushed aside. He was livid now…this was the most severe I'd ever heard him and I'm sure his intense rage had sobered even my spirit in that moment.

The earth around us shook from the impact of so many of his weapons at one time. Every blade that had not already been used fell, and waves of them came after that. The dust knocked into the air made it impossible to see. Gilgamesh didn't need Ea to force the earth to crack around him from the power he unleashed. It wasn't long-lived, the attacks were swift enough…but those few seconds as dirt and golden dust mixed in the air from his assault still felt like an age. I couldn't say anything to him, to stop him or interrupt his attack…and I didn't know if I would have if I could.

All the same…I didn't see a figure standing in the dust, and nor did I want to look at whatever gore his resolved attack had left behind. Instead I pressed my face against the cold armor he'd summoned around himself at some point in the fight. I hadn't even seen him do that part…but I sort of liked it…I felt warm and it was very cold so it felt nice. My mana…it had nearly been drained by him…in such a short time…I couldn't stay awake and I was probably getting sick.

I saw Beserker rising from her own attack to turn toward us. I knew I should be conscious, that I needed to help him…to provide him mana…but I couldn't. My eyes slid shut before I could see anything else. I didn't even manage to get out any sort of command, I was left at Gilgamesh's mercy as I spiraled into unconsciousness.

 **End Chapter**

I still enjoy Gilgamesh's comment one game about one of the grail war rules as: 'oh I broke that rule'. Hahahaha. He's such a cheater…but I love him anyway. Whew, so Hetha was short lived – ha, and I suppose Bond didn't do well either but then he didn't expect to suddenly be fighting Beserker. Boudicca though…man, she's sorta crazy. Her history was super interesting to read about though…if you learn about her it justifies her actions in the chapter. To summarize for folks: Boudicca was a Celtic woman who lost her husband to the romans, and she and her daughters were raped by the romans when it happened. She was putting up with none of that. She lead a rebellion that in a years' time wiped out 80k roman troops across the British isles and was known for being utterly ruthless toward men in general. I really like her story in history, she's a real powerful female warrior. Hetha had less that was known about her but that's part of why she didn't really last. XD

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

Negative.


	14. Nemo

**Chapter Fourteen:** ** _Nemo_**

 _"My flower, withered between pages two and three. The once and forever bloom gone with my sins. Oh, how I wish to dream again, once and for all…and all for once..."_

 **-Nightwish Lyrics,** ** _Nemo_**

 _Perhaps the mongrel had meant it, that she didn't approve of the plans to target my master…but that hadn't stopped them from cutting her throat all the same. Another treasure I had to press into her mouth to keep her from death. Seconds from being too late for the ambrosia to work, the food of the gods…it could heal any injury or ailment, cure any disease, so long as the subject was living. If a subject was already in good health it could imbue stronger mana and abilities but she was weak and I'd given her exceptionally little._

 _I didn't have much to give…but all the same I lacked a choice. It was the only treasure I possessed that could save her from so grievous a wound._

 _My temper was raised, unlike it had been in centuries…not only for the waste, but for the continued targeting of my Master, for the cowardice inherit in such actions. I may have used a bit more energy than needed in clearing out one of the inciters of that rage. The Beserker had taken care of the other one…but with Natsumi's mana already dangerously low I couldn't continue to express my irritation properly. All the same I was ready to fight and then Boudicca shook her head at me. She gestured to the girl I held and ran off as though it was painful not to fight me. Was it some sort of wordless mongrel nod to me for protecting her? All the same, while I could have fought her, I appreciated not having to in this case. I let her run off, she could leave with her life for having aided my Servant in her own thoughtless manner. Instead I went to kill Assassin's master, with that coward dead I could take my own to the safe house she'd brought up earlier. I would have to track down Hetha's master another time, they could be the catalyst for summoning the grail…_

 ** _Natsumi –_**

I could see a grand plain from all sides, I was sitting on a throne over the whole of the Egyptian basin, anything in view was mine. A lion lounged next to me and I sat petting it absently while a person prostrated in front of me described some issues with their cattle. While I could make out every word it sounded a bit muted, as though I wasn't focused on it despite being able to take it all in. There had been a flood, then a bit of disease, his flock was nearly wiped out and he was looking for aid in renewing it since he'd been selling wool to the capital for many years.

Instead, my mind wandered. I would think about combat one moment, then a pretty girl lounging not far off the next, she would be pleasurable enough eventually but it was better to let her second-guess her beauty before indulging in it. Then I pondered what the new puzzle I'd been promised would be, hopefully more difficult or at least more entertaining than the last. Most human games weren't that satisfying, they lacked any sort of challenge. There was little that offered real challenge. Almost nothing at all…all of it, the land, the man, the games, the women…were beneath me…but I could enjoy them at times all the same.

I motioned to one of the scribes, one of many servants that waited to be called at my whims. "Give him a dozen new sheep, half women, half men." It was a fair enough trade, he was right, his family had provided the capital many goods for fair prices. Returning his poor fortune with nothing was only shooting my own realm in the foot. The man offered many thanks and praises as he left, before the next was pulled in by chains. It seemed unlikely he would be so jubilant by the end of our time together. The man glared at me but I wasn't concerned, little concerned me about mortals.

Then, I remembered, I was a mortal…I wasn't a god…and my perspective changed. I was one of the girls nearby, and I was watching a golden Prince as opposed to being one. Gilgamesh lounged on his throne with his lion sleeping soundly next to it. He looked bored, just eternally bored.

"This traitor wished to beg forgiveness. He stole fruit destined for the palace." One of the guards announced, shoving the man down to his knees.

"Put him in the stocks, leave him until he passes." Gilgamesh answered, still not seeming to pay full attention.

"My lord, my lord I'm sorry. I didn't mean harm. I was hungry, my family was hungry. I just wanted to feed them." The man cried out, he had clearly been beaten. He looked destitute, that much had been true even from the other perspective, but now I felt pity for him.

"Why should I be merciful from he that would take from me? Should I expect an endless band of starved wastrels to end on my doorstep? Am I known for generosity?" Gilgamesh asked several questions, his attention had seemed to spike a little at the idea of someone stealing from him. I understood his point but did he need to be so cruel about it. "Let me see, will anyone in my court speak for this man?"

No one else was standing up or volunteering, a few of the other girls snickered but I frowned at them. Why did they have to be so cruel? I got to my feet, and swallowed when the crimson gaze shifted to me. This was my emperor, the eternal flame of Babylon, the sun of the sky...the golden King…why had I stood up at all. Still, he didn't seem angry with me, if anything he looked more engaged than he had the entire morning at court.

"Please, Hesatria, speak." He welcomed, his words were honeyed but I still was nervous. One didn't get honey without risking getting stung after all. I stepped closer to the prisoner, trying to ignore the stench that came from him. Clearly, he wasn't receiving good treatment in the dungeons.

"He…if he was really just hungry, perhaps it is best to let some men pass. Not all of course…and not unpunished…but to rot in the dungeons seems unfair. Is it not the law of the land that thieves lose their hands?" I know it wasn't much better but at least he'd live.

"If one steals from another citizen yes, but this man stole from your King, your god. You believe his punishment should be equal as if he had stolen from you?" Gilgamesh still didn't sound angry, but his observation had elicited mocking laughter from the other members of the court still lounging, all eyes were on our exchange. This was the most electrified the court had been in weeks after all…

"It seems fair yes." I answered despite the gasps and whispers that went on around me for the defiance. What good was a god that wouldn't help his people when they were in need? Gilgamesh smiled at me, not the small smirks or occasional half-smiles he held when contemptuous or only vaguely entertained. It was brilliant, as bright as all the stories told about him, but it lasted only a moment. My view of him disappeared and my eyes were forced to the ceiling. I felt a blade against my neck. What was happening?

"There, I'll take her with me…this was the one you kept looking at while I waited…you wanted to sample her, yet didn't you? You let me go and I'll let her go." The man I was trying to help…he was the one that had somehow pulled a knife and pressed it to my throat. I couldn't move or I'd be cut. Why would he do this when I was trying to help him?

I woke up.

I was breathing heavily, holding my neck. I could still feel it…the blade against my skin. The image, the vivid dream mingled with recent memory and I shuttered. Had the girl in my vision died then? I certainly remembered my own throat being cut just before Gilgamesh had saved me. I swallowed, feeling over my neck…nothing…not even a scar. My leg didn't ache either, and when I looked there weren't stiches. What had Gilgamesh done? I glanced around the room, my nerves still high-strung after what I'd woken up to.

I was in my bedroom at the beach house. It was the safe house I'd mentioned to him. I wasn't sure how he knew to get me here but I was appreciative all the same. I relaxed a little at the idea that we'd gotten out then. Whatever had happened between him and Beserker I wouldn't have made it here on my own without him. The dream though…it was completely vivid. I could feel the humidity on my skin, the sharp blade, the snickering of voices around me…the buzzing of small insects in the hot air…I'd been in Babylon…seeing the world from another's eyes.

Would Gilgamesh even remember if I asked him about it? Doubtful, when I'd seen part of the scene by his perspective he'd been completely uninterested…but then again that seemed to change after my perception did. I saw part of it from him, but the rest from the girl. Hesatria he'd called her, she'd thought he was suddenly charged when she'd challenged him. Not that it did her much good from what I could tell. Was that why he was so angry then? He'd lost something to someone else getting their throat cut? Or had he saved her as he had me?

My stomach rumbled and I sighed, as much as I wanted time alone to think, I wouldn't be getting much thinking done if I didn't eat, not with it complaining at me so loudly. Once I went outside though I'd probably have to face him…not that it was totally bad I did need to ask what happened between him and Beserker after I'd passed out. I got up and frowned when I realized I was in one of my nightgowns – it meant he'd changed me. I blushed at the thought and walked to my bathroom to wash my face and brush my hair. Did he have to do stuff like that? I sighed and ignoring my stomach took a shower before getting dressed, hungry or not I needed some more time to just be alone.

How many times had he saved me now?

A number that was already too high…I was coming to owe him more than I liked. Some of the other times I felt like it was basically his job to come in and help me…but this time…he'd really wrenched me back from death. He'd somehow healed my neck and my leg and after resting I felt physically fine, full of energy. I wasn't as convinced mentally, I could still remember the feeling of the blood washing down my neck and body where Bond had cut into me. It made it harder to enjoy the shower than it would have been otherwise but at least the water wasn't sticky or red. I hated to admit it but I did owe him after all he'd done, particularly this time. As much as he pissed me off and did things that made me want to choke him he had safeguarded my life. We were down two more Servant's as well.

Assassin hadn't made it, Berserker had made certain of that. Lancer hadn't survived either. With Caster already dead as well. That left us with the frightening woman that was Berserker during this war…or maybe it didn't. I hadn't seen what happened but if she had attacked in earnest I expect Gilgamesh would have killed her. In that case, it was only three or four left: Gilgamesh, Rider, and Saber as well as possibly Berserker. The war was going faster than I expected it too, faster than many of the previous reported wars…but then they weren't always as cut-throat as they'd become today. Was I going to continue to be the target for many of them?

I leaned back into the water, trying to keep my head on straight. I had things I had to do. That I had to take care of. I couldn't be breaking down now…I would have time for that if I survived the grail war. I made short work of the shower, dried off, got dressed and headed downstairs to the smell of food, my stomach made another rumble as if telling me to keep going toward the food. I was surprised to see a breakfast already on the table when I got to the kitchen. It smelled good, eggs and bacon…but I didn't see Gilgamesh anywhere. Where had my Servant gone exactly?

"Gilgamesh?" I called out a bit nervously. He had survived our battle in the forest hadn't he?

"Yes?"

I leapt and threw a hand over my chest as he materialized next to me when I called his name, immediately scowling at him. "Stop doing that. Where were you?"

"I was near you, I just wasn't materialized as it sped the recovery of your mana." He answered with a shrug at my remarks, moving to the table to seat himself now that he had a body again. "You should eat, your innards have been protesting since before you woke."

The warm didn't take long to come after a comment like that. He'd been watching me sleep and then what, watching me shower? I frowned as I went to sit down. He was such a pervert! What was his problem!? I went to dishing up a plate, not bothering to ask where he'd gotten the food from, he probably stole it from a neighbor or something, or just pulled it out of his realm of endless stuff. It didn't really matter, I was starved and ready to eat. That helped quell my temper a bit, that and the thought that I did owe him for everything, and I needed to know more…

"…at appened?" I asked, still half eating when I spoke. He looked distastefully at me for my words, as though it was quite inappropriate for me to speak to him while still chewing but I was hungry. He sipped at a glass that appeared in his hand, more wine? It was like ten in the morning…

I picked up my glass of orange juice, glad I'd been provided not alcohol given the early hour. I took a swallow, waiting until my mouth was clear to try again. "What happened yesterday, with Beserker?"

"I allowed her to leave." Gilgamesh answered. "In her own way her actions aided you, even if I had to spend one of my rarer treasures. If Assassin had been able to complete his attack on his own without her interference he would have killed you before I could use it."

"What did you use?" I asked.

"Ambrosia. Don't let it go to your head, despite mortal's wild dreams about it, it cannot grant them godhood or immortality. In some cases, it can give access to greater magic or powers but mostly it functions as a divine remedy. It heals any and all wounds instantly when it's swallowed or poured on the area affected. I have little left after their stunt yesterday." He answered, picking up a piece of the bacon to take a bite.

He'd given me food of the gods? No wonder it had saved me…but then, that didn't make me feel any better. I couldn't exactly complain about his spending on Candy Crush when he'd personally delivered a life-saving potion to me mouth to mouth. I glanced back at my plate, feeling a bit cowed by everything. I knew I was dealing with larger than life spirits and events for the grail war…but this wasn't the same. Even if Ambrosia wasn't everything all the tales described it as, it had pulled me from the edge of death…and even to someone like Gilgamesh it was considered a rare treasure. The fact that he had more than a dose was impressive. Still not something I'd want him to have to use on me again…

"Gilgamesh…" I hesitated after I said his name. I could see him a moment as I had in my vision…in a toga sort of dress instead of modern clothes, his hair slicked back as it had been in his armor as opposed to the bangs left in his face now. More gold jewelry…but otherwise he looked the same. It was as if he hadn't aged a day since that ancient time. This creature was so lauded by the woman that had stood up to him…she'd been frustrated but she'd cared about him. She'd viewed him as a god, a savior…but that hadn't seemed to have done her any good….

"Have you finally come to your senses and decided to worship me properly? Why else would you speak my name so reverently just to grow speechless?" He finally prompted as I continued to stare at him…his self-assurance as eternal as his face seemed to be. I shook my head at him, not wanting to give him the wrong idea.

"No…I wanted to thank you…for saving me. I'm sure it wasn't just to be a hero, but I appreciate it all the same. I was just…I saw you in another time." I tried to explain the reasoning for my hesitation. "It was at a court…but a long time ago…on top of some steep building or cliff overlooking a rich metropolis with a river running through."

"Babylon." He remarked. "Have I invaded your dreams already then?"

"It is recorded that Master's sometimes have dreams about their Servants…about things they've been through. Our souls are connected for the length of the grail war after all." I answered, not letting him bait me into making this something it wasn't. "I saw you judging your court. First giving a man some sheep and then judging a thief."

"I judge many people as the King of all, I did then, and I continue to today." He said with a shrug. "It is likely whatever you saw was some reflection of a true occurrence."

"There was a girl there, her name was Hesatria, do you remember her?" I asked, a bit curious what had happened in my dream.

"I have known many mongrels, I can't be expected to remember them all." He replied between eating, never speaking and eating at the same time. For all his poor behavior, he seemed to have fairly good table manners.

"Well, you started to judge the thief to death because he took food from your court…but this girl, she stood up for him and argued that he should have the same punishment as anyone else." I explained further, hoping he'd remember what I was telling him.

"And then he took her hostage. Your choice of my past is an interesting one, did your experience frighten you that much?" He stated, as though he'd recognized the story the whole time given he'd finished my tale for me.

"Well, I'm not really happy about it…obviously, no one would be. I was curious though, what happened to her?" I asked.

"What was the last thing you saw?" His expression was distant, as if he were thinking about it. For him it was probably much more distant than it was for me.

"The ceiling, there was a lot of gold and blue, he had the knife pressed to my throat after he made his threat, then I woke up." I answered.

"My throat?" Gilgamesh asked. "You saw it from the girl's perspective then?"

"Well, sort of. It started out from yours but then it moved to hers." I answered honestly.

"Interesting." He remarked, watching me as he chewed a bite of his eggs. He didn't speak again for a moment, and I swallowed, was I bringing up something I shouldn't? He washed it down with wine, as he did most things.

"The girl in your dream was saved, but not by any ambrosia is that's what you are thinking. It was no Servant that threatened her, when he died, he didn't even cut her neck with his dull blade before the fire faded from his eyes. He was made an example of in front of those that were still slated to stand before me." Gilgamesh answered. "Why concern yourself with her, she is long dead now either way."

"I…know." I nodded at that. Of course, she would be, that was thousands of years ago, "Did you punish her?"

"Full of questions this morning." He pointed out. "No, of course not. I'd given the court free reign to stand in the man's defense, she had already been punished. Why would I further discipline her?"

 _"Because you seem like a raging douche that does whatever he wants and ruins the days of anyone that argues while laughing at them and calling them mongrels."_ That seemed like a bad answer so I kept it to myself.

"I just…I guess after I saw it I wanted to know what happened." I answered instead. "I don't know enough about you or how you do things."

"So, a reverse job interview then? You are considering me as an employer and wanted to know what had happened to other attendants before you. Uncouth but a good first step, reasonable enough." He commented. He grinned when I nearly dropped my orange juice and started coughing. His words had caused it to go down the wrong tube. It burned…and he was laughing at me for my pain…god dammit, why did he have to turn all my words back on me?

"I…" I couldn't keep speaking, I kept coughing instead. This man was going to kill me for sure, but it wouldn't even have to be some epic wound gained from battle. It probably would be something humiliating like choking to death on orange juice because he wouldn't stop taking all of my actions as some way I was trying to get closer to him.

 **End Chapter**

As one of my friends says: #prayfornatsumi. Let's all hope she doesn't choke to death on O.J. hahaha.

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

 _Ipomoea_ – That does seem to be needed, Natsumi doesn't really have luck on her side. Yeah I like Boudicca too, her tearing up Bond was fun to write. Threatening women around her, doesn't go well.

 _Guest_ – Right? Well, probably great-granddad too given the family history. Somewhere a lot of Tohsaka's are turning in their graves/shrines.

 _Anthem_ – I do try to keep my fictions moving when I have time. LOL, RIP James Bond. And well yes, Gilgamesh isn't exactly a traditional style of romance.


	15. Dance with the Devil

**Chapter Fifteen:** **_Dance with the Devil_**

 _"Trembling, crawling across my skin. Feeling your cold dead eyes, stealing the life of mine. I believe in you, I can show you that I can see right through all your empty lies..."_

 **-Breaking Benjamin Lyrics,** ** _Dance with the Devil_**

 _She had already had a dream about me? Usually it took longer than a few days for my previous masters to show a connection of that level. Her grandfather had never really had such visions, at least that he mentioned. I doubted he had at all. Instead I was left considering that she'd not just seen me in the past, but she'd seen the world from my eyes for a short time. Even my previous masters had always seen me from another soul that had been near mine. Enkidu in one case, but usually just attendants or members of court that watched me or events in my life than seeing my perspective…that was new. I wasn't sure what to think of it. We had a bond I lacked with other masters, that much I had to admit, however grudgingly…_

 ** _Natsumi –_**

"Will you stop equating everything I say to me wanting to be your attendant. I really don't…I mean…I guess it's good you protected your people and all but uh…I'm not interested." I finally managed to catch my breath enough to give an answer. "I even appreciate your offer, but really: No, thank you. I think we need to concentrate on the battles we have left. You said you let Beserker leave so that gives us 3 more opponents, Beserker we met but we don't know who her master is. We never found out who Assassin and Lancer's masters were at all. That leaves us Saber and Rider, who are also unknown right now. Both traditionally have fairly strong spirits…"

"It won't matter. Do you believe I'll lose?" He said it rhetorically, obviously, he didn't mean that he could lose.

"It isn't a matter of just your strength, I don't have all your abilities and this isn't the first time I almost died. Sure, you saved me, and I do thank you for it, again. But if they take me out with a sniper or something, even with all your power you'll still lose your tether and be out." I answered. "I just want to be careful and not rush in again…"

I got quiet as he reached over to touch my face, his hand gently holding my chin as his thumb stroked my cheek. I felt my heart start to race and my mouth go dry as he looked at me. "I did slightly miscalculate, for that I understand your apprehensions but you need not fear Natsumi, do you understand?"

I nodded wordlessly, it was this that was the most confusing. These moments when he was so gentle yet unyielding that I couldn't help but believe in him. They weren't common, but his words did make me feel better…if Gilgamesh told me not to fear – from who better could I have faith in such words. Then of course, as per habit, he shattered my momentary faith in his ability to be kind. "You have nothing to fear from anything but displeasing me."

I sighed and pulled my head back, continuing to eat. He didn't snatch it back so I suppose he was done being equal parts possessive jerk and thoughtful leader. He had picked such a poor combination of character traits, certainly the gods that crafted him must be both frustrated and amused at all the trouble he causes the mortals around him. Still, while he annoyed me with his ego…I was coming to see that he wasn't just unforgivably evil. Self-serving yes, but he didn't have to make those small gestures that made me feel better…he didn't have to put effort into caring at me at all. He could run my mana to a near breaking point and just leave me at the edge of death. He wasn't cruel though, despite what he might claim…or others would…that's what made the concept of using a command seal to cause him to kill himself so repugnant. While I got angry with him, I didn't want him dead…but how many people that could be much better for the world was I going to sacrifice in his stead?

If he didn't die, then all the Master's would have to, and one of them would have to be used as the way to summon the grail. I didn't mind in the case of Assassin or Caster's masters, they would have done it to me…but other Master's hadn't attacked me like some of the rest. They wouldn't all just conveniently be horrible people I wouldn't feel guilty over. Then, it wasn't that Gilgamesh deserved to die either, no matter my many fits of temper…now that I knew he'd saved that girl…even if it was so long ago…I couldn't utter an order to force him to kill himself…not when he did small things like take my face and reassure me when I'm scared. I couldn't.

"You should go to the beach." He remarked, drawing me from my thoughts, I drew my brows together, not certain I'd heard him right.

"The beach?"

"Yes, is it not something mortals do? You're temperament is not as high-spirited as usual, your mana is suffering as a result. It is not just rest that rejuvenates a spirit." He pointed out. "It is the middle of the day, and most of the Masters that seem willing to attack in the day are out or lack Servants."

"What about Beserker?" I asked.

"She won't target you, if she comes I can finish her." Gilgamesh answered confidently.

I suppose I could see where he was coming from, crazy or not this Beserker seemed to take 'girl power' very seriously. She probably wouldn't attack me without a command seal order…and unlike before, I was somewhere where I should be safe without them lying in wait to ambush us or attacking me at my usual home. This one wasn't even in the family name, if they wanted to track it to me, it would take some paper pushing and research. So really, I had no reason to refuse. It was warm for this time of year, so probably the last chance I'd have at a swim…I hesitantly nodded then.

"All right, it's not a bad idea. I like swimming…I'll make us a lunch to take and gather some towels and things. Then we can walk down." I agreed, it wouldn't do me any good to just sit here, and at least if there was anyone else down at the beach then he might keep his pervy moves to himself. It was all around not a horrible idea.

 _No on second thought…it was._

I'd finished gathering things together, then I went to change and put on sunscreen, by the time I'd gotten back he was standing near the back porch in only swim trunks and a pair of sandals. I'd seen more of him theoretically, but I'd never really had the chance to see much since it was either dark or he was fighting someone trying to kill me. However, now I lacked distractions and it was hard to not look at him. I hadn't realized in our previous close encounters that he had several tattoos. They weren't that unlike the markings I'd seen on the Beserker, but they were less complex. The red stood out against his skin, touched lightly by the sun, not burned by it. He still wore a golden necklace…that was there too, and even his boxers were gold, somehow it matched him though.

His body was perfect, it was everything you'd expect given it was part god. Muscles were everywhere they should be, fat was nowhere to be seen, blemishes in general just didn't exist. The tattoos were exotic and seemed to fit him…that they were meant to be. For a man that had been in countless battles his skin looked flawless, like the rest of him. He was the sort of creature people made nude statues out of and worshipped like Adonis…I felt myself grow hot just looking at him. Nope, this was a bad bad bad idea after all. I should just say I'm sick and run back upstairs and wish that any of the Servants would come back and attack now.

"There you are, we should go before it gets too late or the water will be cold." He remarked, then that smug smile curled at his face, knocking me out of the trance inspired by his abs. I stalked to the table to grab the basket and the bag of towels. I refused to let him get the better of me. Him and his jerkish abs, screw them both. He knew he did this, he had to, that's why he looked so pleased when he'd noticed me looking. I specifically did not look again and was happy to lead the way down toward the beach, dammit…why were all the good-looking ones such utter pricks? At least there were a few other people at the beach so we wouldn't be alone. That was a relief.

"I'm gonna go swim." I announced shortly after dropping off our stuff and watching him make himself comfortable on a towel…nope, I did need to cool down. Besides, other sharks were already circling before we got there. Other girls that had taken time to come down here were staring at him. Good, let them deal with his ego. I glanced to my feet as the water hit them, it was warm today but the water was still cold this time of year. I was glad for it though, I needed a small ice bath with all my treacherous thoughts. Gilgamesh's level of pretty was why Catholics had confession about impure thoughts. I dove right in, it'd be cold at first but my body would adjust, even if I had just been in the shower a while ago I'd take it. My skin could suffer for a while today. I swam a bit then turned around and swam back, floating closer to the beach where I could even reach down with my hands and stabilize myself in the sand. The short chilly swim had helped my mood, now I was watching the other girls still getting steadily closer to Gilgamesh.

I wondered what that was like, to them he just looked like an extremely built and gorgeous human, they couldn't know that he was a legendary spirit thousands of years old. One of them even got brave enough to walk forward and talk to him. I was far enough that I couldn't hear her but I doubt it was going to go well. It was probably like receiving unknown mail on your birthday. That's what I pictured walking up and talking to him must be like. There's this pretty piece of mail that has a colorful envelope and you think it must be a birthday gift with something nice inside, really it's just a overpriced bill that's been dressed up nicely. That's what Gilgamesh was, a pretty bill…

She didn't go running off crying so he must have found her appearance 'suitable'. A moment later she looked a bit confused but got into our bag to dig around. What was she doing? Then I realized when she pulled out the lotion and put it on her hands. He'd gotten her to put it on his back. Great, that resolved him from asking me when I came back out of the water. I liked this having other people around to do these things so he wouldn't ask me. I leaned back to look at the sky, all of this was bad for my health. Beyond the constant near death experiences the stress couldn't be good, so this wasn't as bad as I first pictured at the house. I was adjusting to the water and not having to be next to Gilgamesh was a good break. I could just lay here, enjoying nature and relaxing for the first time in days – well relaxing while conscious. This wasn't so bad. I forgot how nice it was down at the beach house, I should start coming more once all this is over.

Which lead me back to what that could mean…just what would I wish for in the grail war when we won? Gilgamesh's confidence was wearing off a little but after his assault on Lancer…I couldn't imagine him not winning now that he said he meant to. It was incredible…the amount of power he could summon at seemingly nothing more than thought if he had the mana. I was already weakened then…just how much more could he do that I didn't even know? Or really want to know…it seemed like the abilities he'd used already would probably be enough for the grail war. The King of Heroes indeed, he was specialized in killing them. Though I suppose for me he'd been Hero several times, even if it was resentfully.

"There, all done." I could hear the woman now, I'd floated a bit closer in my watching them interact. She had finished putting sunscreen over his back and talked a bit about his tattoos but I'd zoned them out with my thoughts. "You want to come play volleyball with us? We could use a couple more players."

"No, thank you for the invitation. Perhaps my girlfriend would oblige you, Natsumi?" He called my name and I frowned at him for putting me on the spot at the same time as calling me out on stalking him a little at the beach. Of course, he'd noticed even though he was on his stomach until now and had barely glanced around. He rarely called me anything but mongrel, so him using my name, even just to keep up appearances, was surprising.

"Uh…no, no thank you." I stated, watching as he walked toward the water after using that girl as his personal slathering buddy. Damn, that was cold. She was glaring at me but I shrugged at her, what the hell did she think I was going to do about it? I didn't have control over Gilgamesh, regardless of if he was my Servant or not, I was no actual Master to him beyond being a convenient mana battery. I was surprised that he came to stand next to where I was half laying in the water on my floating noodle I'd brought from the house. He was looking down at me, but then, when wasn't he doing that at least figuratively.

"You're displeased." He pointed out, it wasn't a question.

"I'm just…I don't get why you got the poor girls hopes up just to get lotion on. I'd have done it if you asked." I pointed out picking up a shell from the floor to look at it. It was a bit larger than some of the others. It was sort of pretty and it wasn't chipped like many where…maybe I could take it up to the house.

"Oh? Are you jealous?" He asked, sitting down in the water near me and taking the half of the noodle that was sticking out of the water under his arms. Though he'd positioned himself on the other side we could face each other easy enough while floating in the shallow water. I shook my head at his comment, then I wasn't sure of that either. I had felt a bit envious I suppose…he was pretty after all, and he was supposed to be mine…if someone was going to get to feel him up really hadn't I paid for it already? Then, did that make me like…some person that paid for a hooker? I'm sure Gilgamesh wouldn't like that sort of a reference so I kept it to myself.

"I just don't see the point in hurting the girl's feelings," I replied instead. "Besides, you also pointed her at me and called me your girlfriend."

"It seemed a viable story, should I have gone with sister?" He asked, turning over where he wasn't looking at me but instead at the sky…why did he have to be all pretty? I turned over as well, not wanting to stare at him, but it felt nice to just be close without us arguing…well, arguing too much.

"No, but you should warn me about stuff like that." I answered lightly, not wanting anyone to overhear. "Off topic but…what are those tattoos?"

"They're marks of power, they let me generate and control greater amounts of mana…they aren't always visible but with as much as you've been a target lately it seemed wise to keep myself in top condition when we're out." He answered.

"So, they aren't always there?" I asked, honestly curious. He had magical tattoos of basically mana asskickery? That was sort of neat, then again, it was just the sort of over-the-top thing I'd come to expect from Gilgamesh. "Where do you get tattoos like that exactly?"

"A gift from my mother, she engraved them shortly after I was born." He answered, apparently not that concerned about magical tattoos from his goddess mother. Sounded about as legitimate as anything could be coming from Gilgamesh's mouth. Though, I hated to admit it, he didn't lie directly very often…not that I could recall but the reports on him didn't match up in general. I was sure he'd never put this much effort into his contract with my grandfather. Then, I doubt he'd kissed the man either.

His lips had been softer than I expected, even though he'd been insistent and it wasn't really a traditional kiss, he was just using it to dose me with medicine after all. I hadn't really thought about that part of my rescue until now. I suppose he had broken his promise not to kiss me but I couldn't really argue with it since I would have died otherwise. All in all, usually in the end I couldn't really yell at him too much even if I wanted to. For all his poor personal behavior, many of his actions had helped me…

"Are you considering tattoos?" He asked after a moment of silence, he'd turned slightly in the water and was looking at me so I shifted to, trying to keep my eyes on his face and not his chest. How does someone end up with that many abs…it's not like I ever see him doing anything like working out…

"I was just curious cause I couldn't remember seeing those before." I replied. So they're like mystical symbols then? He nodded, smiling at me impishly a moment before taking my hand. I blinked curiously at him, then realized he was moving my hand to his chest…dammit…he was such an unpredictable person at times. He traced my fingers over his skin, still holding my hand. His skin was softer than I expected too…but I did my best to pay attention to what he was showing me. It wasn't easy exactly but he was going over the shape of his left shoulder and along his chest.

"This side, the icons allow me to draw in extra mana swiftly. I can siphon it from the environment around me much more quickly than most Servants when I use it actively." Despite him basically moving my hand to feel up his chest he didn't sound as though he meant it to be sensual as opposed to academic but all the same my abdomen was tight as he took my fingers on a small exploration of his body. He'd pulled me closer in the water to make it easier. After he finished the explanation he dropped my right hand, to instead bring my left to the tattoos along the right side of his body instead, starting with the shoulder again, but also the ones on his upper arm.

"These focus that energy, allowing me to refine it swiftly and focus it into Ea when I summon her, it is why I need to summon her with my right hand to most effectively use her power." He continued to explain and I nodded thoughtfully, surprised he would tell me this much about himself or his abilities. It helped me relax though, perhaps too much. Without his encouragement, I reached forward again to touch the separate tattoo on his right lower chest and abdomen, tracing it absently as he'd done with my fingers on the other tattoos.

"What is this one? Does it have a purpose of its own?" I asked curiously.

"Balance." He answered in the single word. His voice was a bit different than a moment ago, maybe more serious? He was speaking lowly as we had been much of this time, but it was changed all the same. When I glanced back to his face from the tattoo I realized how close I'd gotten to inspect the markings…in the water, but it was transparent so it made little barrier between us. He was staring again, in his quiet avaricious manner that made my heart skip a beat before starting to race. His expression was hungry, a predatory glint was in those cardinal depths that incited an insidious idea. Like any poor thought, once fetched it was impossible to ignore. I ached out of want for this incubus of mine…devil or not, he wasn't the only one between us felt starved.

 _"Don't give in…"_ My mind fought against this concept…even though it was already a snowball turning into an avalanche. He hadn't looked away from me either…but neither of us had moved forward…was he still waiting for me to act then? Was it some prize of his, some reward in a game, manipulating me to crave being near him…to be the one to chase him. Weren't girls the ones that were supposed to be chased? Of course, I'd never been one to adhere to tradition…that's why I'd summoned him in the first place. What good was this dance of ours if neither of us took any steps…I might regret growing closer to him…but then I might regret not so why just stand here uncertainly?

I was about to lean forward, to press myself into him…the water, the people around us, forgotten as I made the resolution to act on my wishes.

Then the world popped and flashed black…

 **End Chapter**

I think Natsumi battles herself more than her enemies…

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

 _Ipomoea_ – Natsumi doesn't really seem to be able to enjoy anything. LOL, most things seem to make people almost like Gilgamesh, and then they're all: 'well fuck, I like him but I don't. He's such a dick!' hahaha.


	16. Collide

**Warning:** Adult/mature themes this chapter. Mostly the later half.

 **Chapter Sixteen:** ** _Collide_**

 _"Even the best fall down sometimes, even the wrong words seem to rhyme. Out of the doubt that fills my mind. I somehow find, you and I…"_

 ** _-Howie Day Lyrics, Collide_**

 **** _I knew it. She barked loudly, yet she couldn't help herself. She, like so many, simply desired to be close to the first hero of mankind. It was a part of who I was after all, so few could resist the lure of the divinity that runs through my veins. Eventually, any creature would bow, it was a matter of time as all personal will eventually bent knee before the gods. I was only part, but mongrels wanted something greater than themselves to follow. An alpha with more power than they possessed, humans were pack animals after all. She was about to give in, when the other mongrels on the beach interfered. I knew it was coming but I couldn't act on it, not without suspicion. She didn't see it, couldn't have guessed. Her expression turned sour the moment it slammed into her and then she slammed into me._

 _Well, that had certainly interrupted…but then, such things happened. I couldn't help but find it humorous. Even with the best laid plans, sometimes snakes just come along and eat the key to your immortality. The fickle nature of the world amused me, more so as my mongrel turned her rage on the members of the beach, it was so poetically ill-fortuned that what more could I do than laugh._

 ** _Natsumi -_**

There was a moment of black when the volleyball hit my head and instead of leaning up to kiss him I slammed my forehead into his chin and fumbled to keep myself up in the water. OW!

"Ow!" I said aloud a moment after I realized I'd only thought it. I managed not to curse, but only with effort, staring toward the beach toward whoever had just made a fool out of me. The woman that had put on his lotion earlier was walking our way – bitch.

"Oh hey you okay? Sorry, we missed!" She yelled…motioning toward the ball that was floating near us. "Can you throw that back? I don't' want to get wet."

I glared at her but I picked up the ball. I was about to throw it back but then Gilgamesh started to laugh. Like this wasn't embarrassing enough? I sent a dirty look toward Gilgamesh, then back at the woman and threw the volleyball as far into the lake as I could, pushing myself up to walk back to shore in frustration. This was apparently all the funnier to Gilgamesh, who started cackling more behind me as I stalked past the girl, who hissed an insult at me as she waded in to get her ball back. I hated everyone, no wonder a few people in the grail war wanted to destroy the world before…those with Gilgamesh. I started gathering our things, at least he'd finally stopped laughing behind my back. I put a towel around myself and began to carry the rest back. He didn't need a towel I expected. Ow, my head hurt, my pride was heavily wounded…I was just done…all around done with today. I wanted to go back and crawl under my bed and finally have that cry…this was all too much.

I managed to get back to the house with what shreds of dignity I had left, setting stuff on the table. Stupid girl, she probably hit me on purpose since she was still pissed at Gilgamesh. Then, he probably could have stopped it, he always noticed everything, and he just let it slam into me. Jerk, the whole world was filled with jerks. I turned to head back to the shower, after being in the water I would want to get my skin clean. Besides, the walk up here even with a towel had been a bit cold…though the world seemed damn frigid to me in general lately. It would be nice to get warm again even if it was just physically.

I sighed and wasn't sure if I should just start sobbing as I leaned into the spray of the water…what was wrong with me. I'd almost kissed Gilgamesh! Then the stupid volleyball had to go and get in the way. Really, of all the horrible shit that could have happened the first time I actively tried to kiss someone I had to bounce my forehead off their jaw! My head hurt. Should I thank the volleyball or wish it would end up deflated in hell never used again. I felt a little of both now. That raging egotist was pretty but wasn't I less shallow than this?

 _"You can't help but fall for a guy that keeps saving your life?"_

Had I heard that somewhere before? I don't think so…what the hell brain?! You choose now to get behind this? Traitors all around me, I'm a betrayer to myself…to my family for summoning him in the first place, to my family again for liking him after all the trouble he caused them. My great-grandfather would probably disown me if he knew what I was doing. I hung my head and thought about slamming it into the side of the shower…but that'd probably just hurt it more after my collision with Gilgamesh's concrete jaw, what the hell were the bones of Servants made of anyway? Probably not regular bone, my poor forehead could attest to that.

"You going to be all right? Or did you wish me to destroy the offending sporting goods?" I nearly stumbled and fell over with yet another of Gilgamesh's appearance. He really didn't get personal space. To his credit, he at least reached over to steady me so I didn't faceplant into tile…but then that might have been better since he was standing near me in the shower completely naked again. Why did the strongest servant also have to be so comfortable in his birthday suit?

"I dunno, you could have at least stopped it from slamming into the back of my head." I remarked, salty after his lack of aid.

"I didn't wish for anyone to think I wasn't mortal. That is the point when I am amongst the mongrels, to not let them see our divinity." Gilgamesh replied, he still looked perfectly amused, like it'd been a great afternoon on the beach where I hadn't been humiliated. Then, he did seem to take my personal disgrace as entertainment.

"Just…please get out Gilgamesh." I said, rubbing my temples. "My head hurts and I don't want to…stop, stop it!"

I cried out as he swept me up off my feet, I knew he could lift me and it wasn't a struggle for him but in a slippery shower it felt particularly dangerous. Besides, I was just telling him to go away, this was the opposite of going away. The tile of the back of the shower was frigid on my back compared to the hot spray, but he was pressing me into it all the same, one of his legs bent to hold me up between mine. I blinked in surprise at his sudden directness, staring a moment at his leg before looking to him but he was just next to my face, golden locks stuck to his cheeks from the water…

"Gilgamesh…"  
"I don't think I misread what was happening, you were about to kiss me outside were you not?" He asked, his questions as direct as his actions. His amusement was still there, but muted compared to when he'd arrived, or…

"Yeah, then I was beamed in the head and we bashed into each other. Oh, then you laughed at it like a hyena. So now my head hurts and I just wanna take a shower in peace." I answered, not wanting to admit that his forward approach had helped mend my pride wounds a little. I was still unsure though, when I looked at him I still wanted him…but my mind was still protesting that he'd basically been one of the reasons my family was so bad off now.

"You are tightly wound Natsumi…" He commented, but he did let me down from where he'd pinned me to the wall, leaning back to take a turn in the shower…was that his plan all along? I never knew with him, that was another part of this problem. "…I look forward to the day you finally let loose."

"I don't think you do." I answered with a deadpan, I should be embarrassed but I was still angry enough and at this point and getting jaded enough, not to be as worried about our shared nakedness. He didn't reply aloud, only smirked at me and took one of my hands. He placed my loofah with soap on it into my palm.

"Here, after your disappointment with the lotion earlier I'll be altruistic and allow you to lather me." He stated cheerfully, but there was that challenge in his eyes again. That silent dare for me to disobey his 'kindness'. I wanted to throw it in his face, would soap in the eyes hurt a Servant? I'd sure like to find out.

"You are impossible." I hissed lividly, not making a motion to help him. "Laugh at me, then come back here and ask me to demean myself for you."

He caught my hand, staring at me seriously. His amusement was gone, but I couldn't tell if he was angry yet, but I didn't really care. He was about to speak but I didn't let him. I was upset, I pulled my arm away. I know he let me, cause if he didn't want me too I probably couldn't but all the same I was a bit too mad to appreciate the small gesture. "Gilgamesh. Don't even start. Don't give me that you're insulted that I'm not thanking you for the offer. Whatever might have been the case in your age, it's not a compliment now to ask someone to clean you. I am not going to appreciate it. I am tired and I'm emotionally drained, and I just wanted to take a shower in peace. Can't you understand…"

He vanished…

"…that?"

He left? Really? The gold was still in the air from his form dematerializing. I stared in surprise at the spray of the shower…had I gone too far? His leaving was almost worse than him insulting me by staying here. Oh god, what would he do now? I really had to stop just snapping at him. He had been calm with me the past few days, for him. I can't imagine he was too pleased with me just kicking him out…god he might destroy my house…nope. Can't enjoy a nice shower now…not when he might be heading out to murder.

I finished up quickly and threw on clothes before heading down the steps. I could feel him nearby so at least he hadn't left the house. I paused at the bottom of the stairs when I noticed he was playing a video game. Thank goodness. He didn't seem angry at all, if anything he looked as though he wasn't at all concerned about our short fight in the shower. Good. I realized he'd set the picnic basket next to him and gotten into it in the few minutes I'd been rushing out of the shower. Well, at least he'd sort of given me a moment of peace, even if I hadn't taken it…

"Uh…sorry I snapped at you a little." I said, sitting on the other end of the couch and leaning over to the basket to get out some of the food inside. "I'm just…confused I guess."

He was playing a game with other mini-games. They looked like casino games. He would like those, given he was supposed to have fortune just come to him I wouldn't be surprised if he could make a lot at a normal one. He didn't look at me, instead watching the dice roll across the screen. "What are you confused about?"

"More than I want to talk about." I replied, taking a bite of the sandwich, they weren't that bad…I dug out a soda to wash it down with and opened it. Whatever had been rolled, it was in Gilgamesh's favor. His little avatar – gold, obviously, he'd make it gold, cheered. It was so bizarre, sitting here watching him play video games. I sipped at my soda, knowing sooner or later I'd have to rip this bandage off and talk to him about my confused feelings. Though I was worried I'd bleed out instead of being healed by discussing it. "But uh…what…is this? I mean, I get that you're helping me and why…but why do you keep…teasing me for lack of a better word."

"Have I not been honest with my intentions?" He asked, still not looking at me, he let out a small 'tch' sound when he lost a round of his dice game and moved his little character to play something else instead.

"Sometimes too honest, but is that all you're looking for, some sort of slave?" I figured I had to ask sooner or later. He'd probably laugh at me. It would be par for course with my day.

"A slave and an attendant are different things." He remarked. He'd been dealt a ten and a four. Not the best hand for blackjack. He considered before hitting. A 6. He didn't bust but he was close. He might beat the dealer.

"Okay, well putting semantics aside." Because I was sure that whatever he thought an attendant did was what most people today would call a slave… "What is this, between us?"

"Are you growing attached?" He asked, setting the controller down after he won his hand, closing the distance between us and considering me seriously. I always felt like he was looking past my eyes when he got this close, that he could tell what I was thinking or feeling somehow. It made me feel more vulnerable than our exchange in the shower had even though I had clothes this time. "The appetite is there, I know desire well enough to spot it in another's eyes."

"I wouldn't say that." I managed, though his pleased smile reached his eyes at my weak veto of his remark. "I admit I find you attractive, yes. You are…but I want more than that."

"And what is it you want, my mongrel? Me, few don't want me…there was little hope for you since I left you considering it. Are you finally ready to give in then?" He whispered, leaning close enough that his lips were near my ear. He did make defiance difficult, I had to give him that much. Though his nickname was repulsive enough that I pulled back to look at him seriously. He cracked a grin at my resolve, his hand sliding up my thigh slowly as he spoke. "I've already fed you ambrosia but you hunger still. Would it relieve you to know you can't help it? You are only human after all."

I furrowed my brow at him, trying to ignore his touch on my leg by not looking at it. It didn't help.

"It's natural," He repeated my confusion, leaning close again, pulling my neck to wear he could suckle at my skin. I gasped but he broke off a moment after he started to speak again, so I couldn't protest aloud. "The divine part of me drives you toward me, as it drives any mortal. It always has and always will, that spark of something more than human that every human strives to touch."

"That…doesn't make sense." I knew it did make sense, but I wanted to riot against the injustice all the same. He was telling me that there was some sort of godly hormone that made me unstable and oh goodness. He was kissing my ear. "Stop that."

"You shouldn't be ashamed, likely the mania is only worse since you got a taste of the god's fruit," He explained. He did draw back at my direction, but his expression was that of a lazy feline curling comfortably on its favorite bed. Instead of my ear he picked up my hand to kiss the palm, then the wrist. I watched, not really having it in me to protest as a part of me did want this…this strange carnal hypnotism of his…I might as well be a mouse lost in the eyes of a snake.

"No, no." I managed to pull my arm away as a matter of sheer willpower mixed with nervousness about my own inexperience. I laughed nervously. "I don't mean all of that. I ah…"

I paused to take a drink of my soda as he readjusted to sitting nearby, apparently not at all abashed at the way he'd been pawing over me. Yes, he was just like a cat the more I thought about it, fickle, beautiful, cruel…only interested in his own needs. He checked just about every box…only he was human sized and held the power of a god. Details.

"Okay. I don't want just…something physical." I managed, it was still too embarrassing to just say it out loud. He moved me this time, instead of coming closer to me. I blinked, blushing as I realized he'd shifted my hips and legs to straddle him on the couch. I was going to demand he let me go but he started talking first, pressing my body into his.

"Why would it matter to you? Am I not the devil that killed your great-grandfather and fought with your grandmother and adopted father? A beast you summoned as nothing more than a tool to you? Why not use me as one?" He asked, not sounding offended by his comments even if they painted him in a negative light. I doubt he thought I felt that way…if anything he still sounded entertained by our conversation. Then again, he made thinking hard in general. "Do you expect something more from that soda once you've finished it? No, you are simply thirsty so you drink. Why concern yourself with something so trivial as to what to do with the can after?"

As he spoke he continued to press my body into his, and it was clear that for all my confusion about wanting him, he was not shy about showing me he was ready to take that plunge. I dug my nails into his shoulders as he ground our hips together, forcing myself to a pause. Not that he couldn't make a point…damn, he was good at making a point. Why was I even arguing with him?

"Well, you aren't really a piece of fruit…" I managed to spit out, regathering my thoughts when I managed to stop him. Trying to catch my breath and my composure at the same time. He had stopped us humping but didn't let me move either, his hands were small vice grips on my legs when I started to get up. "You aren't just a tool, that's the problem. It's not trivial, not to me. You pretend well enough, but I know there's a person in there Gilgamesh, you might not be fully human, but that still makes you human enough."

"A true observation, the human part of me is the interesting part…it's the piece that urges me to fight, to survive, to enjoy life and it's many delights." He answered, his right hand letting go of my waste to drift higher along my body, sliding beneath my shirt to explore my skin. "Yet, in this case…the world doesn't need to be complex…we torment ourselves for want of each other…what more discussion does there need to be?"

His eyes were aflame with greed. I'd seen lustful expressions from him before, in my bedroom, in the lake just a while ago…but not like this. They were illuminated with unabashed ravenousness, a bottomless pit of physical desire that had somehow taken a physical manifestation. I'd wanted to talk to him, to find out if there was any chance that this could end in more than lust…but I gave in. I saw it in his eyes more than I trusted his words. The fact that the King who held every worldly treasure would long for me…even in a short moment…was overwhelming. Regret was the furthest thing from my mind as I melted into him.

 **End Chapter**

Lesson learned: Volleyballs are cockblockers. Got rid of the volleyball, everything went fine. Natsumi is finally enjoying herself sort of?

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

 _Ashley_ – I expect/hope for a similar sentiment here…

 _Ipomoea_ – Volleyballs man…they're evil. And yes, I am amused by Gilgamesh using the horny beach girl to get lotion on. He is an agency of opportunity.


	17. Try Everything

**Warning:** Adult/mature themes this chapter. Mostly the first third.

 **Chapter Seventeen:** **_Try Everything_**

 _"I messed up tonight, I lost another fight. I still mess up but I'll just start again. I keep falling down, I keep on hitting the ground. I always get up now to see what's next. Birds don't just fly, they fall down and get up. Nobody learns without getting it wrong."_

 **-Shakira Lyrics,** ** _Try Everything_**

 _Delight._

 _That I knew well, it was a part of me, as much as my godly blood. I'd infused exploring the world's pleasures into my very being no less than the gods had infused themselves into me. Only I'd chosen my path of pleasure and ignored the tasks they called on me to accomplish. In my thousands of years of existence between countless realms I'd tasted all manner of pleasures, and sampled more than a few women…yet this mongrel did call to me. Perhaps it was because hers had been the body that released me from that hellish void…but I did want her. I wanted her as I hadn't lusted for a woman in ages…she pressed even my patience by the time she gave in. Yet, she tasted better than I expected. I was right of course, anticipation made the final feast all the greater_.

 ** _Natsumi –_**

Whatever inhibitions I had seemed to dematerialize as swiftly as my paramour could.

My lips were parted by his tongue and his hand curled through my hair to hold me in place as we embraced. I explored his chest openly now as opposed to the nervous way I'd traced it outside, as though the pads of my fingers could memorize every one of the lines of his many muscles. That would take more focus than I could muster however, what with him pulling my head back so he could trail his lips from my mouth over my chin and down my neck. I realized that he'd removed our clothes already, apparently after he undressed me last time he had little patience for it now. His mouth, his hands, they weren't cruel or painful but he was insistent, my back arched as he pulled my waist closer and his tongue traced the center of my breast. My eyes fluttered closed when he took it into his mouth to suckle, I hadn't expected him to be this direct this quickly but I couldn't complain. On the contrary, I only realized I was rubbing my hips into his after I'd already started it.

I froze a moment later, nervous as I realized just how far just not having clothes on made us in this process. He released my breast, glancing up at me…his crimson eyes were still embers, perhaps glowing more now than they had been a moment before. I was caught in that gaze, my breath uneven from just what we had done so far. He let out a small growl, as if in displeasure that I'd paused…I thought he'd pull me back against him but instead he slipped his hand between my legs and I nearly jumped from him at the touch at first. His other arm steadied me however and I felt my nails dig into his shoulders at his nimble movements seconds later. His mouth met my chest again, only on the other side this time and gasped, my fingers trailing over him in a bustle of animation.

All at once, I wanted to do something, to be doing something, for him, too him…it didn't really matter. I was drunk on the labor of his fingers, gasping for air even though I was still not entirely sure how he'd pressed a button so keenly that forced me to need so much oxygen. It was more than the pressure I'd felt before when I was attracted to him…similar but magnified. As though my entire body was racing for some unseen goal. My fingers raked over his back and he let out another incoherent rumble all too noticeable through his chest. It was as if his carnal noises could somehow transfer through the flesh because I felt a rush when he did. Then, my hands weren't on him anymore…they were in the air, caught by a chain…jutting from a golden window. He'd called Endiku to get my hands off his back? Couldn't he have asked…

Don't care…

It didn't take long for him to make me not be worried about the fact that my arms were suspended by magical chains that could hold gods. If anything, him showing some of his power had only made the pressure worse. I was sweating now, he was too…I'd felt it before my hands were drawn away from his back. A shock of pain pulled me back to the present, I cried out in a mix of shock and discomfort at the burst of sharpness in my abdomen as he pressed himself inside me.

"Shhh…" His voice, discolored with his pleasure, drew my attention away from the initial laceration. He was trying to comfort me? It was easy enough to distract myself with his eyes when he set his forehead against mine. His hands were still guiding my body, albeit slowly than a moment ago, but he was right…the shock of pain was already warping back into pleasure. His purring in my ear helped… "Relax Natsumi, it will pass."

A rhythm returned, and it didn't take long for him to be right…for me to forget about the short interruption. Distracted instead with the pleasure, as we moved…as he became a part of me, even if only for moments at a time…flickers of seconds or was it longer? Time became rather relative as we moved, ever a bit faster than a moment before. Building…accelerating to the point that it was nearly more than I could handle before my body seemed to burst. Pleasure erupted into every cell and fiber of my being while I panted labored breaths and wrapped my arms around Gilgamesh's skin as they were released from his chains. We were both slick with the effort of our lovemaking. My body shuddered against his and his arms enveloped me as his did the same. I felt a bead of sweat drip from his hair to my cheek and I laughed between breaths, whatever came after this…I was certain regret wasn't on the list of adjectives I'd used. He'd made me forget everything…even if it was only for a little while…

I shivered as the air changed, the heat we'd generated on the couch wasn't in the bathroom where he'd teleported us. I was standing next to him and swayed a moment on my feet while he restarted the shower – that would be my third one today…but this one was starting out much better than the first two had. I slipped past him to get into the spray, surprised that he pulled me close from behind and ran his hands along my sides. I swallowed, my body while already electrified, was a bit sore…it had been my first time and now that I wasn't actively enjoying the ah…ride…I realized perhaps I shouldn't have just let him do anything he wanted. But then…I wasn't really against it either…

"I think we should actually get cleaned up if you're using the mana to transfer us in here." I pointed out, though it was difficult given the way he nuzzled into my hair. I thought men didn't really want to keep going after they'd had their good time, was I mislead or was he just…unique? Either way…cleaning up took longer than expected because I was swiftly finding it more difficult than it had already been to resist him. I'd gone from virgin to many times not in a few hours, was that even a thing? Many times, not a virgin? No, probably not. I was…sore…but in a satisfied way by the time I'd managed to get dressed, and hungry. However, calling to have the cabin stocked wasn't something I ended up having time for before the last few days. It was too late by now to go to any markets that would have fresh food.

"You could have picked up food you know. I can't cook if there isn't food here. How did you make breakfast anyway?" I asked, curious since I didn't even see a carton of eggs.

"I summoned it." He replied. "I owned spirits that work for me, simply because I don't materialize them here doesn't mean I can't call on their abilities to summon food when I please."

"Wait…if you could just summon food why did you insist on me making stew when you first got here?" I frowned at him, really? He could bring forward anything he wanted but he'd just keep draining my resources?

"It is still easier to use food from this world than what I can summon. Let us just go out, restaurants are a popular pastime in your world, there's much to choose from. I saw an advertisement for CoCo Ichiban's, that looked good." He answered, shrugging at me and only raising a brow at my frustration. God, he was so impossible, he didn't even realize why he was impossible. I sighed.

"Okay, so you have a lot of mana now right? Can't you whip up a dinner and then tomorrow we'll go to the market and I can buy things to make curry then." I tried to reason but he clearly didn't look impressed by my suggestion.

"I may not want to try it tomorrow. Is there an issue with going now? Are you still not feeling well?" He asked, setting a hand on my forehead as if checking for fever. I blushed despite myself, it wasn't like I hadn't just explored him…very fully…multiple times. It still felt strange for him to show any concern for me, I still didn't really know what else our relationship was now. Was it anything else? I didn't really have time to fret over it now though.

"Yes, going out to eat isn't free, and while I guess CoCo's isn't really super expensive…I have already gone through all of my budget this month but a small amount. I need that to buy groceries so we won't starve moving forward." I explained.

"Do you really want to just sit here?" He asked, sounding skeptical. Honestly? Not really. I felt great, brimming with energy despite our day's…physical activities…wait, how did he know that? "Ambrosia usually leaves people with lots of extra energy but it'll raise your metabolism as well, I expect you must be starving."

Well, he wasn't wrong, I was hungry. But couldn't he have at least warned me about this sooner, then we could have gone to the store instead of the beach. Of course, then we might not have…spent our afternoon burning that energy.

"Fine." I relented. "But since you have everything, pull a car out of this vault of yours instead of a motorcycle…please."

I offered the final word after he'd leaned closer to me, putting arms on either side of me and backing me into the table. He was about to go off about not taking orders, I was sure of it. Then he smirked as I added the 'please'. "Not perfect, but improvement all the same. We need not travel in your mundane means at all."

I was about to point out that we weren't saving on energy if he kept transferring us about but it was too late, we were in an alley. I let out another sigh and he laughed.

"You are starting to sound like a deflated balloon instead of a mongrel. It's not an improvement." He commented, well, so much for thinking a physical relationship might change the way he acts. I resisted the urge to sigh yet again. "Attempt to relax for a moment, enjoy life more."

"I think you enjoy life a bit too much." I answered, falling into step with him as he headed out of the alley, I noticed we were close to the Coco's, in a small area in the city known for nerds and anime fans. I thought it better not to ask why he was down here, I already knew he was a pervert after all, he'd probably grow annoyed if I pointed out he was a nerd too.

"You didn't complain about it being too much earlier." He remarked smoothly, grinning at the blush that came to my face. "Very chaste for a woman that was begging for more indulgences an hour before now."

I let out a strangled sound somewhere between a quiet shriek and a guttural protest of rage, choking on my own shyness. I had been able to ignore my bashfulness when we were alone, but a couple of girls near the entrance to the store started to giggle and whisper after his comment. Oh god…that one girl was in one of my classes…that's it…my life was over…I was going to be a slut forever now…

"Will you shut up!?" I hissed as lowly as I could, I knew my face was on fire. Why did I ever think that he'd be able to be subtle…if I'd of considered this consequence I am pretty sure I could have stopped myself earlier…he laughed at my distress, settling an arm over my shoulder as he directed me inside. I was still not sure how to put words together to yell at him without yelling at him.

"Your innocent plight is charming all the same. It makes me wonder how many times I'll have to deflower you before you calm on the topic." At least he'd done me the mercy of dropping his words to a whisper in my ear. Then again, maybe it wasn't. Already my body felt more alight at the allusion to more enjoyable times but I shook my head.

"Let's not talk about that here." I insisted. Maybe we shouldn't talk about it ever again. Gilgamesh would make a better Servant if I could just gag him. That would make my life easier all around if I could pull that off.

"Okay, I would like the number seven. Natsumi?" He asked me after he'd made his order.

I hadn't even looked at the menu, I was distracted by him staying so close and friendly with me. Was he still planning to play up this farce that we were dating? That wasn't sending mixed signals at all when he treated sex like drinking a can of soda. I also wasn't used to him saying my name yet.

"Uh, number three, please, thank you." I said, I was about to pull out my debit card but then Gilgamesh did. Wait, he was treating me? I stared all the way over to our booth, trying to decide what was going on. Just when I thought he wasn't going to act differently than he did he'd do something like that.

"Was that not the proper social convention? The male paying for the female?" He asked and I realized that's why he was being nice. It wasn't being generous, he was keeping up the mortal appearance.

"Why do you care to keep up the appearance? I know that wasn't really something you had a habit of in the records?" I asked, sipping at my soda that they delivered. He'd even gotten a drink as well – very strange to see him drinking anything not wine, and extra from a straw. Him doing normal things just didn't really fit…it was like when people took pictures of celebrities doing everyday chores…you just had a hard time imagining it.

"Is it not you that insisted these mundane actions have value?" He asked, putting one of his arms over the back of the booth lazily. On second thought, he still didn't really look like one of those celebrity photos…he didn't have make up or pruning to do, he was always just pretty. He could have been a model working for this chain taking pictures. I know we were earning a number of glances and the girls from before were still whispering. He didn't seem concerned, he seemed to expect attention even while claiming he wished to blend in.

"I…yes. Just day to day things do have value." I answered, still confused by this part of him.

"Then, I'd learn them for myself," He replied easily, offering a nod to the worker that brought over our curries. "It doesn't earn points for appearance but it does smell good."

"I like CoCo's." I half-agreed. "I don't really care what it looks like if it tastes good. It is all the same in the end."

"That's incorrect, all experiences add to personal appetite, if a meal looks, smells, and tastes good it leads to a more memorable and better all-around experience than a meal that only fits one or two of those criteria." Gilgamesh sounded more invested than usual when it came to these sorts of talks, then I suppose he did keep telling me he was the King of Delights as much as Heroes.

"Well, maybe every trip to CoCo's isn't memorable, but it's still nice." I replied. "You talk about the world like every part of it needs to be alive with color and dancing to entertain you but there are comfortable things that are still good."

"Lukewarm may not be unpleasant, but often leads to apathy," He stated, pointing at me with his fork before using it to mix his cut of beef into the curry. "You for example, consider my mentality over the top yet you claim to be content with your tepid fast food and unresolved desires. You don't know what you want to do, and that indecision scares you. You aimlessly wander, lost in frets of a social world of photocopy faces and misplaced idol worship. You'll soon have the world in your fingertips and you haven't the feintest clue what you want to do with it."

"Wow…" I didn't know what to say to that. I didn't like it, but he'd hit me more spot on than I would like. Just because he was selfish didn't mean he didn't pay attention. With my previous wish a bit pointless I still didn't know what I wanted from the grail. Not really. That he had spot on. I pushed my food around, feeling chided by his words.

"There is nothing wrong with familiar comforts…so long as they don't transform into complacency," He'd paused to eat some of his food, and he still didn't open his mouth to speak while eating. He took a drink of his soda before he continued, "Don't grow so serene in your circumstance that you cease to want, giving up ambitions for the everyday…it is akin to death."

He'd gotten quiet, was that what it felt like for him when he was inside the grail? Or whatever prison I'd let him out of. Did it feel as though he'd given up his ambitions then? I had a hard time picturing Gilgamesh giving up on anything he wanted. It still made me sad to consider, I still didn't know what he'd gone through after all. "So, do you not enjoy small things then?"

He laughed. "I didn't say that, there are many small things that bring pleasure. I dislike the ideal of just deciding to stay with what makes one comfortable and giving up gathering more in return for lukewarm."

I nodded at that, I guess I could understand that much. For all it sounded like he was insulting my way of life, he was still here trying it. He was still trying to get something out of it, something new, despite having lived for ages. Is that why he'd gone mad in the last war? Had he thought there was nothing left to explore really? So, it was better to remake the world, perhaps something new would come from it. It was a frightening thought, but I could understand the reasoning, even if it was not very thoughtful toward others I got the feeling Gilgamesh always felt he was helping in his own mislead way…

It made me feel a little better about him, but a bit worse too. It was good that he wasn't actively trying to be a jerk, but it was bad that if he convinced himself he was helping he had no problems killing people. Is that why he's warning me now? Don't grow too comfortable or you're better off dead Natsumi. I think I could pass on help like that. I returned to my own food as I fretted over my latest information, I guess at least he was attempting to understand normal people and their likes – it was a first step. Maybe I could convince him that everyone had their own measure of pleasure and what happiness was for them?

It didn't sound like an easy job, but I'd released him on the world, and I'd agreed to give him his own body…I felt like it was my job to clean up after him…like a new puppy…a really large, destructive, murderous, hump loving puppy. I sipped at my drink as I watched him enjoying his curry despite his previous insults. Teach the King of Heroes to fit into modern society? Sure, I could do that. Why not?

"Okay, so. I decided. I will help you…when the grail war is over and you have a body again. You can call me an attendant or we can come up with some other title if you want but we have to discuss terms and what that means exactly, and I won't agree if the terms aren't fair, and you have to stop calling me mongrel." I announced, grinning at the surprised look he offered me, I didn't earn that from Gilgamesh very often. I was going to have to remember it this time.

 **End Chapter**

Gilgamesh, ruining Natsumi's chances to ever have a normal relationship pretty much by existing. He's such a dick. I also can't help but laugh at the idea of Gilgamesh enjoying the song from the opening quote. XD

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

 _Ipomoea_ – Well she wasn't complaining…then, she's gotten a bit attached to Gil. LOL Natsumi's thirst and Gilgamesh being a character version of Knife Cat.

 _Ashley_ –I try, teasing is the best part? Well, close enough to it anyway.

 _Bonza_ – I appreciate that. Gil can be difficult to keep in character. Particularly, while having him deign to spending this sort of time with his 'Master'.

 _Anthem_ – LOL yes, Gil is an ass, but at least he's a sexy ass? And he wasn't really thinking about Shiro in there XD. I do as well, I am also horrible at blackjack, it is not really my game.


	18. Game of Life

**Chapter Eighteen:** ** _Game of Life_**

 _"See how the game is of life is playing all of us for fools. Dancing a string around us, making all these silly rules. See how he looks down on us like we're acting out a show. Throw the dice and see which head will roll..."_

 **-JubyPhonic P Lyrics,** ** _Game of Life_**

 _It was rare that a mortal could surprise me. I'd watched that criminal threaten the member of my court that had stood up for him with little reaction. I'd seen it before, people that bit any hand that reached out for them. Yet, this young Master had managed to surprise me. I'd expected that eventually I'd take her as a worker of some kind, but for her to suddenly button hook into agreeing and demanding terms I didn't see her doing. It wasn't just our intimacy that afternoon, though the thought flickered through my mind I dismissed it almost immediately. It wasn't in her nature to covet me to the point of agreeing to that, her explosion in the shower had made that clear. No, this was altruistic…the mortal that had been so selfish in her desire for the grail, that couldn't even decide what she would do with her wish when she finally earned it, wanted to help me in her own way, on her own terms. With that level of compliment, it would have been uncouth of me not to entertain this discussion._

 ** _Natsumi –_**

"Please, tell me what you expect." He said, recovering swiftly after his moment of surprise. He wasn't annoyed by my ultimatum styled statement, he looked pleased with this situation.

"Uh, well…you said you needed an attendant to help you with modern needs. I can help you learn to adjust to them, so it'll be a temporary basis until you can learn. I won't just do everything for you, but I'll be happy to teach you how to do anything I can teach." I answered, not expecting him to agree so readily. "I will stay with you until you are comfortable surviving in the mortal world, and in return you won't go killing anyone or interfering with my other life needs, whatever they might be. Despite what you might think I do want to finish school."

"A fair request, you have spent a fair amount of time dedicated to it." He remarked. "Though, I have a sizable amount of wealth, I'll require more than one person to aid in its management as well as the eventual estate I'll purchase. I don't require the sort of staff I had in Uruk but all the same I'll need some workers if I plan to live amongst the humans fully."

"Okay, that's fair…but they'll need to be treated humanely." I answered. "You probably don't really know modern labor laws so that's something we'll have to learn together."

"You do seem dedicated, just how long are you willing to take this contract?" He asked. "You are human after all, you won't live as long as I will."

"Well, after school, assuming you are paying me appropriately or can survive well enough to have a job then I will work with you indefinitely until you have things arranged." I answered, I knew that could mean always being tied to him…but I wasn't sure I didn't want to be able to keep an eye on him after the war had ended anyway. This gave me an excuse to always be able to check in so he didn't get all suicidal and angst-ridden again. Emo kid Gilgamesh tended to try to destroy the world and all…

"Hmm, so a life-long contract, you don't think you'll come to regret that? Wouldn't you rather set it for something like five or ten years with any need for renewal being discussed then?" He asked, pausing his food long enough to pose the question before digging in again. It was a little alien eating with someone else so often, but I was growing to like it. The estate would be lonely when the war was over…

"I…suppose that's a fair idea. Ten years then, assuming all my other conditions are met." I agreed, I doubted five years would be enough. "Okay, so, what exactly are you expecting then?"

He finished his bite, washing it down with soda before speaking. "In your free time, not sleeping or working with your school I'll expect full use of your time for my needs and any details I wish for you to accomplish related to my adjustment to this modern world. Within reason of course, it is clear you are exceptionally fragile, if you are ill or recovering from some injury then I won't expect you to be present."

"Okay…so what do you mean? I'm not going to just do grunt work for you." I answered, picturing him trying to reason that I should be doing all the chores he didn't want to do as a part of his adjustment. "I'm not going to clean your house or cook for you unless I'm being nice and offering, and that goes for similar work like general bill paying. I'll show you how to do those things but I'm not just going to do them for you."

"No concern, hiring cleaning staff is simple when you pay well." He waved it off, unconcerned with that of my comments…but wasn't that what he'd said before? He wanted someone to do those very things, didn't he? Isn't that what he said when he first asked me to do this?

"No need to be perplexed, I did ask for such a position of you at first," He admitted, reading my face easily. "I have decided that it would be unfitting for a Master of mine, even a former one, to take on that sort of a profession. You were connected to me after all."

"You aren't very good at saying nice things." I pointed out. "I mean…I get that it probably sounds like a compliment to you but…considering you'll need to deal with people you should practice saying things in nicer ways. Maybe I could get you a book on it."

 _"Speaking to people without being an asshole for dummies."_

Was that a book? I'd have to look later cause if not, maybe I could get in on the credits for that one…I'm sure I'll probably earn more than enough experience dealing with trying to help Gilgamesh. I knew it was probably rushing more than I should, but it felt like something worth doing as opposed to my indecision lately. I was helping the world at large and Gilgamesh, who I did feel l owed considered how much he'd pulled me out of the fire lately. Self-serving or not, he'd saved me many times.

"You desire for me to dress up my comments with honeyed fabrications and false flowers." He rolled his eyes at the suggestion, I guessed I wasn't the first person to bring up his rude manner of speech then? "There is little reason to sugar-coat my words, those that deserve disrespect draw it, those that earn esteem get it."

I couldn't picture almost anyone that would earn esteem from Gilgamesh.

"Either way, you don't have to treat people poorly, honeyed words are going to work better than vinegar ones." I replied.

"Perhaps, but only if I were trying to attract bees. Mongrels will eat anything set before them." He responded, sliding his plate away. He'd finished nearly the entire thing as we spoke…man, he could eat fast. I returned to my own meal as he leaned back comfortably, arm over the back of the booth again, folding one of his ankles over the opposite knee. He could make any chair look like a throne if he wanted to. Too bad under all the pretty he was being purposefully blunt about the point I was making. "In the end, I'll hire those people that tolerate who I am as opposed to those that won't. I will not put on an artificial play for those that care for my home."

"…" I pondered as I chewed. Obviously, this was going to be harder than just pointing out he had a problem…of course in his disdain for others he would never consider himself the issue. "Well, you did say you wanted to try and live as normal a life as possible. I can't really teach you to do that if you aren't willing to make any compromises."

"I am. I came to this hovel…the food was satisfying enough but leaves much to be desired. I wish to survive in the world well enough, not alter myself to its needs more than required," He answered, ignoring the fact that he'd been the one to suggest it. "This isn't some exercise to make me another person, merely to learn what needs to be done."

"You can be who you are while still not talking down to everyone around you." I answered, though I wasn't convinced of that myself. Would he really be Gilgamesh anymore if he wasn't standing himself up over everyone else? "Or at the very least while you're lording over everyone just learn to take the edge off just a little. That aside, you were mortal for years between two of the wars, what did you do to survive then? I mean, you obviously didn't just kill lots of people – at least with suspicion cause everyone was surprised when you showed up."

"You've seen me when I was on my throne, have you not? Was I unfair?" He asked, leaning forward to sip at the remains of his soda. When I saw him in the past…things were peaceful for the most part. Well, other than that nearly getting my throat cut part. He wasn't overly cruel or rude to those around him, he'd been almost polite to the girl in my dream. I nodded thoughtfully. "As for my last visit to the mortal world, I was tied to the mortal unfortunately, he still had dozens of seals when it was over. Mortal or not, the seals could still command me. I kept a low profile because it was required of me. Mostly I spent time in Vegas."

"I will let it go for now, you having a house and hiring people." I answered, willing to compromise more than he was I expect. I set my plate on top of his, I hadn't finished quite as much but it was good. I liked it more than he did but that sentiment applied often. His explanation for his location I could see, I expect he could have lived perfectly comfortably in Vegas for years. "We need to focus on the grail war first anyway."

"A good sentiment to have, I feel a spirit headed this way. Come, we're refreshed, let us meet them. They're new." He rose and I headed after him after putting our dishes away in the proper place, rushing a bit to catch up. A new Servant? Would it be Saber or Rider then?

"You can't start a fight here." I commented, it was late so by the rules the spirits could fight at night, but this area was crowded and there would be lots of witnesses.

"No, I don't plan to. Besides, they're not in the downtown area. This way." He took a dark looking side street and I frowned as I followed him. There were a few unsavory looking guys that were watching us. I knew we weren't really in danger from them if they tried anything, but we weren't the alley resident's I was worried about. I glanced toward them as we got closer. There were five. Three were playing some card game with money on a box, seated in folding chairs. Another was on their phone chatting in Korean…I'd taken a semester but I couldn't make out specifics, I just recognized the language. The last was using a knife to pick at his nails and watching us as we walked.

 _"Just don't say anything_." I thought at them as we got closer, and indeed they didn't move so I thought maybe we'd be fine. Then as we were about to step past the one with the knife spoke up.

"Hey there, you two make a cute couple…care to pay us for passing through. Gotta keep the streets safe and all." The man remarked lazily, the other guys that had been playing cards got up. Gilgamesh didn't even look at them, he was walking toward his goal without a care in the world, hands in his pockets. I stayed close…hoping they'd give up on us based on Gilgamesh's bleeding confidence alone. Hopes never seemed to work out well for me lately. The knife landed at Gilgamesh's feet and he paused, I sighed, nope, this wasn't going to end well.

Then he started laughing. This was not good for them.

"You should run." I remarked to the boys walking toward us. It only seemed fair to warn them, but I had a feeling Gilgamesh wouldn't have let them escape after that anyway. Gilgamesh hadn't even taken his hands out of his pockets and one of the men was falling toward the ground. He'd specifically hit the one farthest from us. One of his blades cut the thug down before he'd ever seen anything coming. The others didn't even notice until the body hit the floor of the alley.

"Your whimpering grows tedious." Gilgamesh said without looking at them. Standing casually as the men started to freak out.

"Jin!?" One of them called when he noticed his friend down, running over… "He's bleeding, it's real heavy."

"What? What did you do?" The men rounded on Gilgamesh, fresh fear had entered their eyes. They had weapons, a bat, knives, no guns but still enough that to a normal human they would have been dangerous. I reached out to take my Servant's hand.

"Leave them." I whispered, already the one he'd hit would probably die…

"They are a pox." Gilgamesh stated, he wasn't looking at me either. Instead he was watching the sky, he looked bored, as if he'd played out this exact scene before. "If I let them go, the mongrels will target someone unable to stop them next. That's what dogs do, they form packs to destroy the smaller dogs and feed from them."

"What the hell are you two going on about?" The one that had thrown the knife before had another blade in hand and was stalking toward us. "Stop being pussy's guys, it's just one guy and his whore. What did you do to Jin?"

It was too late then, any chance I had of convincing Gilgamesh to stand down passed when the defacto thug leader jumped at him. A spear shot from above to pin him into the ground through his spine. The others didn't even get a chance to cry out though they seemed ready to run. Five men, five gates, it didn't take more than one per human. He'd effortlessly slayed the entire small gang that had thought to hold us up. I sighed as I started walking with Gilgamesh again, there was nothing I could do for them after all.

"You didn't have to kill them." I pointed out, glancing to where he was still holding my hand as we walked.

"They would have died eventually, if not by my hand then another's or by fate." Gilgamesh replied, continuing his leisurely pace after having slaughtered the group of men. "Do you wish I'd left them alive? A strange sentiment when you consider we're on our way to kill more mongrels."

Choose your battles. I'd told myself that for a long time. It was sad but he was right…who knew what that group could have done to an innocent couple that went by. They seemed quick to brandish weapons after all. I suppose it could be argued we'd done the world a favor, but I still felt guilty for having to harm anyone not involved with the war.

"No, you are right, they weren't really good people. Obviously. You have the right to defend yourself. If a group chooses to prey on people like you then I can't judge to harshly if they end up eaten instead of eating." I stated, I didn't want him to think I didn't support him. He was my Servant after all, and I'd chosen to accept the parts of him I could. It wasn't like he'd killed them senselessly, and I wasn't a bleeding heart for criminals.

"Oh?" He smiled as he turned to face me at the end of our alley, we were about to exit near a park. It generally closed in the evenings and I didn't see lights on so it was definitely hard for me to see out here. He pulled me closer to him. I blushed a bit as he leaned down slightly, speaking more lowly. "Here I didn't think you would surprise me and you've done it many times today. I approve."

He seemed to have forgotten we'd come this way to stalk an enemy Servant, my comments had apparently sparked something with him. Still, it was sort of hard to be interested in making out when we were in danger and there was a bunch of gore a few hundred feet away – not really my recipe for romance. I shook my head at him, putting a hand on his chest to pause him from kissing me.

"We're here to look for the Servant remember?" I pointed out, then glanced toward the park. I felt it suddenly where I hadn't before. They were in the park? Not a lot of people walked there this late…were they planning to attack someone? No…there was another one. Two Servants together again? Then the bursts hit me, the pair was fighting? I mean, that was good for us, if they could finish each other that was energy we didn't have to spend.

Neither felt like Beserker, so it was Rider and Saber? I frowned as Gilgamesh pulled me toward the park, apparently without a single fuck to give if he was spotted by them since he wasn't hiding his own energy. I frowned as he pulled me toward the battle …was he trying to get me killed?

 **End Chapter**

Oh, poor street thugs. And Natsumi thought she'd bit off more than she could chew! I apologize for not posting for a while. My new classes started for my term (I have 8 week terms). Tomorrow I have eye surgery so I probably won't get to post for a while again after this but I wanted to get something up before that.

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

Ashley – Glad you enjoyed it.


	19. Had Enough

**Chapter Nineteen:** ** _Had Enough_**

 _"You should have learned by now, I'll burn this whole world down. I need some peace of mind, no fear of what's behind. You think you've won this fight, you've only lost your mind."_

 **-Breaking Benjamin,** ** _Had Enough Lyrics_**

 _She'd adopted my own words to play with when she stated she accepted my actions._

 _A rare event, most mortals or Servants frowned on my actions in recent memory. Still, here she was switching from asking me to spare the mongrels to not just taking my view into account but agreeing with it. My initial assessments of her may have been unfair, after all she had pulled me here despite the grail's displeasure with the summoning…she had the mana and willpower to reject the grail itself. In retrospect, there should be little surprise in her eventual consent to kill those that would stand in the way. That was the point of the grail war, and she'd dove in fully aware of that fact._

 _I could feel the spirits fighting one another in the park, one was obviously stronger than the other, but that simply bought me time. My mongrel was an enthusiastic student to physical delight thus far. Outside of my own interest in pleasure, considerable after decades of nothingness…I found her zeal addictive. A pity she had so many inhibitions in public, yet it was something to be worked on. If she insisted we slay the other Servants before continuing her education, then I may as well make it swift._

 ** _Natsumi –_**

"Uh, shouldn't we come up with a plan?" I asked. I mean, he was strong, and technically just charging in had worked for us so far…but I really didn't want to keep getting caught in the crossfire. I followed along all the same. Gilgamesh was so willing to just charge headlong into combat. Even though I'd seen it before, I still wasn't happy about it. "I really would rather not get nearly killed again. If I was a cat, I'm pretty sure I'd be down just a few lives…"

"You aren't powerless, don't act otherwise." Gilgamesh answered me as we continued toward where I felt the battle taking place. It seemed uneven, would one of them finish the other? That would be nice. Then again, I couldn't take anything like that for granted, I'd learned that early on. Besides, my Servant was right, I was still a magus, and I still had magic I could call to my aid.

"Ow! Why are you being so mean?" The high-pitched voice carried over the forest, and I glanced curiously at my golden companion, he only shrugged, shoving his hands back into his pockets and following when I started to scout further ahead. I felt better with him at my back as well was the reminder that I was a trained mage, that I could do this. It helped that I'd seen what he could do during our last battle too…

What was I seeing exactly?

I'd come over a small hill and I could see the two Servant's in the distance, standing near humans. One of the humans I didn't recognize, the other I knew as Shiba Matou. I was right that he'd been one of the chosen individuals.

The Legendary Spirits…one was a pink haired young woman with a bow and arrow – but wasn't Gilgamesh the archer? Was his insistence that he was above classes legitimate? The other was a taller, thin woman with dark hair and skin and sharp features. She had a sword next to her, that made the guess easier. Saber.

Shiba was standing behind the saber, of course he'd have one of the stronger ones. Not a great sign since he was better than me at magic as well. He would be a difficult adversary without a strong legendary spirit, with this one it would be harder than I first thought…

Saber laughed, her voice was deeper so I could guess the pink haired girl possessed the higher voice. "Is that not the point of this war, to remove our enemies. Are you even trying? What sort of Rider doesn't have a steed?"

So, it was Rider? But with a bow and arrow? That's confusing. I seemed to have gotten the red-headed stepchild of grail wars.

"I have a mount!" The pink haired girl yelled back, wiping some dirt from her face and nocking an arrow in her bow. She danced backward as Saber came at her, forcing the dark-haired woman back with arrows. Yet, Saber didn't look that concerned, she had a grin on her face like she was enjoying this. The sort of malevolent enjoyment I'd spotted on Gilgamesh's face before, she was playing with Rider?

Gilgamesh pulled me back behind a tree. I realized he had turned his energy off again…they hadn't noticed us yet. So, he did want to wait and see what happened? I guess I couldn't blame him. It was easier than us running out into the fray and taking on multiple Servant's at once.

"Do you recognize either of them?" I asked quietly.

"No, they haven't been in wars where I've participated." He answered, still watching them instead of me. He could pick out so much I couldn't…that I remembered well enough from the short scene in my dreams where I was seeing the world in his eyes. He picked out minute details most humans wouldn't even think about - just by watching. When I'd seen him he'd been bored and barely paying attention yet he'd known everything happening around him…what could he decipher when he was trying? I looked back to where they were fighting, frowning a bit as Rider was knocked several feet away as Saber backhanded her.

"Is this the best you can do?" Saber laughed, slamming her sword into the Rider's bow with enough force to send sparks flying around her. "What sort of legendary spirit can't even make me break a sweat? You are barely worth punishing."

Saber kicked backward, her foot coming to connect with Rider's chin, slamming shut any reply the smaller girl may have had with a snap of teeth that echoed around us. This was completely overrunning Rider, it wasn't even a contest. But who were they? I had heard of other female Sabers of course, but this one didn't match any descriptions I'd seen. Saber then looked toward us, so she had noticed us then…she was easily the stronger of the two opponents.

"Are you going to come out and face me? All of you are welcome to challenge my rule, you'll end up the same, falling before me." The woman called toward us. I glanced to Gilgamesh but he wasn't smiling, he never liked when people spoke down to him and all. His armor was glimmering into place around him and I pressed closer to my tree, not wanting to follow him out there. He obliged that at least, striding onto the field without me.

"Oh…there is someone else. I just thought it was you being madder than a swarm of rabid rats." The pink haired girl didn't even notice Gilgamesh until he walked onto the field. "Meh, wait your turn goldie, I gotta kill this one first."

"Let them have at it…" I said lowly, expecting he could hear me anyway since he was still so close. He clanked even as he came to a pause, gesturing to them.

"Continue to tear at each other Mongrels, I can clean up when you're done biting each other's heels." He remarked. Well, at least he didn't just start attacking them…

"Good, obliged." The pink haired girl said.

"Must I clean up this trash?" The dark-skinned woman glanced to the nearby human that was probably her Master. She seemed annoyed by all this, the human said something I couldn't hear then Saber sighed dramatically. "There are so many poor tasks for a responsible Queen, fine…what other laughable skills could you have left. Come on then, 'Rider'."

You could hear the quotations in her voice.

"Fine!" The pink haired girl yelled. "Come to me, my steeds!"

Fog rolled in around us, and the moonlight grew brighter…a partial reality bubble, we hadn't left the area…honestly it reminded me of Caster's this go but there were no bright symbols on the ground. The earth shook slightly and I could hear the thundering of hooves before they reached us. There were six horses that pulled to a stop with a chariot near the archer, not Archer, Rider with a bow? Ugh, the grail was failing on some of its designations here…

"Finally, let us end this so I can move to the main event." Saber complained, setting her long blade in front of her. It was flat and curved…a scimitar I think it was called? She had a sinister ambience to her, something that set me ill at ease just by watching her. Rider let loose an arrow that cut across Sabers upper arm, meanwhile Saber made a strike though she was nowhere close to the horses or Rider. Still a moment later, sure enough a wound cut across the lead horses front leg…cutting it down and sending the Rider flying as her other horses crashed into the first fallen steed. She went flying off into the woods, thrown rather far since she'd been picking up a lot of speed quickly.

Saber then looked to us, waving her sword again. I called my shield up just in time for energy to blast into it, already it was starting to spark and crack at the force. So, she could swing and hit from a distance without needing to be present? She leapt backward and away from me as a dozen blades came toward her. She deflected several, but one cut her again in the same arm she'd been struck in before, adding a second wound to that shoulder.

"Now, now, no reason to get so angry." She clicked her tongue at Gilgamesh. Her aggression was mitigated by the purr in her voice. I couldn't see much of her, a field of yellow ripples reached into the sky between me and the female Servant. Clearly, Gilgamesh didn't like when people targeted me instead of him. It might have been endearing if this hadn't gotten so serious so quickly. Why did his hair go up like that when he was in his armor? Was a part of summoning it also summoning hair gel…really powerful hair gel? I think I liked him better when he was in casual clothes, but then…now wasn't the time to be thinking like that.

I needed to focus. What sort of an ability was she using? Wind maybe? Sonic? Probably not since I hadn't heard anything. How could she strike from a distance and hit like that? Gilgamesh didn't look overly concerned or impressed, there were so many blades shooting at her she couldn't take a moment to throw a strike toward us, she was busy deflecting. All the same, it was impressive that she'd somehow managed to keep up. I put my shields up around me again, I didn't see anything coming but after previous encounters I didn't trust anyone not to try and stab me.

"Don't count me out already!" The Rider's words were matched with several arrows coming at the Saber. Saber was hit a few times and had to withdraw more to another side of the field. I walked closer to peer through the glimmering wall Gilgamesh had put between me and the battle on the other side of the field. The smaller woman was quick, and didn't seem that worried when wounds appeared on her every time Saber swung.

"Her power, what do you think she's doing?" I asked Gilgamesh after getting closer to him.

"Hitting from a distance? It's a functional trick against ranged combatants, particularly useful for a saber who is likely trained for hand to hand as well." He answered, he hadn't glanced to me from the battle, he was still analyzing. "It's not enough for me but certainly a danger to most other spirits."

He did put his arm out in front of me, deflecting a light that shot from Shiba Matou toward me. It bounced off his gold armor without so much as making a scratch. I jumped a bit, glancing to the boy across the field. Was he really hoping to take me out this way? Did he find me to be that much of a threat?

It had been a mistake. Shiba's own shields were swiftly breaking as weaponry shot at him. I saw no reason to stop Gilgamesh, Shiba had targeted me first after all. Shiba probably would have been killed by the onslaught if Saber hadn't withdrawn from Rider to defend him, though as dust cleared she didn't look as well as she had a few moments before. She was bleeding in several places and a polearm still stuck from her side. Her superior expression had been replaced by one of pain but she was standing her ground better than I expected.

Saber was glaring at us but she was forced to turn to the pink haired rider as the woman shot more arrows as well, deflecting several of them and the pair starting to go at it again while we watched from our side.

"Interesting." Gilgamesh remarked, explaining for my benefit. "Saber is constantly using a part of her noble phantasm, it's what lets her attack at a distance…but it also lets her block more than a single attack at a time. However, it seems she has to choose either to be defensive or aggressive at any moment. She has to switch between the two, she keeps pressing a switch on her blade. It's minor, but she was about to attack us and then had to switch it back to defend against rider."

"Still a powerful Phantasm." I answered. "She didn't even have to say it, we didn't know she was using it for a while. We only do because you see more than most."

"It is unique but nothing she possesses can stand against Ea. Would you like me to finish her here?" Gilgamesh asked it like it was nothing. He didn't seem as interested in this battle as the last, he had finally turned to look at me instead of the battle now that he'd deciphered Saber's secret. Was this all just making him impatient? I was about to ask but a feeling went down my spine that made me nervous…this skirmish had been noticed by the last participant in the war. I felt Berserker getting closer…and now that I'd seen the other masters…I had a feeling the Einzbern twins were in charge of her. This was getting difficult to handle…the Berserker was sexist for certain and if she turned all the other spirits against Gilgamesh it might be too much even for him.

"The Berserker is heading this way…we should withdraw for now." I remarked so he wouldn't think my silence was acceptance of his offer to end it here.

"She frightens you?" Gilgamesh only raised a brow at me sharply, clearly not in a hurry to leave this place. "You have no reason to be concerned."

Not true but I knew if I pointed out my concern he would brush it off. I didn't get the chance to say anything, a scream cut across the field that drew both our eyes back to the fight. Rider fell backward, she wasn't dead but it didn't look good for her, she was bloody everywhere. What had Saber done exactly? My eyes flickered to Gilgamesh but he was still watching intently, I didn't want to disrupt his concentration so I returned right back to the scene. Rider was crawling away from the other woman, using her hands to pull at the grass.

"A pathetic excuse for a legendary spirit…you were cut down so easily." Saber's voice was cruel, amused as she followed the pink haired girl.

"Stop it!" The human ran in front of his spirit…he put a shield up so he had to be a magical student of some kind but I didn't recognize him so he was probably a year or two behind me. He wouldn't stand a chance against Shiba Matou. I swallowed, I could empathize with him, the desire to keep his spirit safe, to protect her when she was so obviously outmatched, even if he was as well. I frowned at it, it seemed so unfair.

"Kill Saber…kill her now." I told Gilgamesh, I couldn't just watch her cruelly attack Rider…even knowing they had to die eventually I felt horrible about letting it happen like this. Gilgamesh didn't question me though, and Saber was forced back from Rider as dozens of blades shot at her, Gilgamesh raised his hand. He was serious then…I knew it before the abstract key materialized at his call while Saber was still being pushed back by blades. It wasn't even just Saber; her master was being hailed on as well. I had my shields in place but I wasn't sure I'd need them. This fight was different than the last…he wasn't as carefree…had us being intimate changed something?

"Hardly fair timing Gilgamesh." Saber remarked as she danced backward, still able to block most of Gilgamesh's attacks. "Do you have to take advantage of me being busy to kill me?"

She was appealing to his pride, but there was nothing that could make him question that…he didn't so much as hesitate as he turned the key in the air, calling forth the immense pressure of Ea as the red lines spread out from the mystical godly blade like a tree of destructive energy before rooting back on themselves to form the spinning sword of rupture. He'd told me once that I had tasted the divine so I would seek it out, and certainly I felt something godly about the sword – though I certainly had no desire to have it close. It promised Saber's death completely.

"You should be honored that I would draw Ea to finish you mongrel, it is far too honorable an end for one unfit such as yourself, but I'll be generous and allow you to at least speak your name before I end you." Gilgamesh's pace hadn't slowed, nor had the swords still raining down on his enemies. He'd said he would finish Saber here if I bid him too, and it seemed he intended to keep his word. I had no doubt he'd accomplish it.

"Ranavalona the First of my name, but I won't die here to you." She snapped back at him, with another swing of her blade I saw several of his weapons burst apart midair, her own skill was even more than I'd seen previously. I watched several cuts slam against my shields. I didn't recognize her name but certainly she was a frightening creature. "What good are your army of swords when I have and endless amount of souls with which to block them."

"Souls?" I spoke the question though I doubt my voice would carry that far. I was more concerned with keeping my shields in position. What was she talking about?

"I see. The Queen of Madagascar that isolated her people and used them as fodder for her whims. That abuse hasn't ended now. The people who died for you…you use them as shields, weapons…throwing them away as readily as you did when they were alive." Gilgamesh observed, he knew more about history than I did. I'd never heard of a queen of Madagascar. "How many died in your reign, millions? Nearly half your people were wiped out during your reign. Wake up."

His final words weren't to his enemy but his sword. As he lifted it next to her the several sections along the length spun faster, drawing in air around him as red light began to flicker not just from the runes on its surface but outward though he hadn't actually swung it yet.

"Over two million souls that will defend me from your attacks, or return them to you. Even your blades won't last that long, King of Heroes. What good is your one strike against an army ready to perish in my place?" Ranavalona hissed his title like a curse. I saw several lines appear along Gilgamesh's arm and face. He didn't look concerned however. The pressure grew again in the air it was pulling me toward it, the winds blasting through the nearby tress and ripping up grass that disintegrated as it got close to the blade's vortex.

"An impressive number of souls, you may have had a chance had I not drawn Ea…your Noble Phantasm is good. I'd hate to insult her with something less. Still, your confidence is infused in disrespect…all the world's souls gathered together could not repulse my blade." Gilgamesh replied by yelling over the shrieking his weapon now let loose in the air. I saw the muscles of his arm tightening as he prepared to strike even as more lines of blood were called to the surface of his skin…even as I saw my shields starting to disintegrate under the woman's assault. "Enuma Elish!"

The earth shattered around his feet, the bolt of energy that flew at the woman, it hesitated only a moment longer than it had when he'd used it the last time. For all her strength, it wasn't enough, the sword of rupture commanded heaven, earth, and the underworld…there was nothing even a few million souls could do to stop it. I shivered a bit watching it…the destruction that splintered out around him when he used Ea was incredible, the park's central area looked a bit like a meteor had hit it. Perhaps I shouldn't have let myself get drawn up in Rider's issue…because this certainly was not keeping a low profile…I could hear car alarms going off in the distance, and some of the power had gone out nearby so it was a bit difficult to see but it was a clear enough night that you could still make out the wound in the ground Ea had left, burnt through where Saber and her master had been…they were gone with everything else…even a long line of the trees had disappeared in the wake of the blade's swing.

I was about to speak but a moment later Ea was blocking Boudicca's spear, the redhead appearing swiftly enough that one might have been able to mistake her for rider. Her eyes were wild and she didn't pause after a single strike, pressing into a second that bounced from Gilgamesh's armor after leaving a dent. A third strike was headed directly toward his midsection…between armored plates.

 **End Chapter**

Whew, sorry for the long delay. My eyes are still healing so this was something I worked on in bursts over weeks instead of the quicker way I normally work on my writing. I still have more planned though, I promise. Just have to get the time to get to it!

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

Ashley – Finally got this up!

Anthem – LOL yes, no points for thugs. And maybe?


	20. The Passenger

**Chapter Twenty:** **_The Passenger_**

 _"I am a passenger, I stay under glass. I look through my window so bright. I see the stars come out tonight. I see the bright and hollow sky. Over the city's a rip in the sky. And everything looks good tonight."_

 ** _-Iggy Pop, The Passanger_**

 _Saber was more impressive than expected but it wasn't enough. Nothing was enough against the strength of Ea. Had she really believed she would have enough souls to defend against the sword that cut through worlds? A fool in the end. Not worthy of the power that had been given to her. Not that I had much time to consider. Yet another woman dashed in, Beserker apparently disliked my previous treatment of her for certainly the strength of her blow would have blasted apart any of my endless other weapons. If I wouldn't have possessed Ea to block with then Boudicca might have gotten through my defenses with that strike._

 _She didn't pause with one however, another swing glinted from my armor – lacking the same power as her initial charge, a third cut toward my midsection, at a point that could have pierced through the plates but she had forgotten what else I could do. Endiku curled out at my call, the chains wrapping themselves around her arms and legs. She howled like the mongrel she was at being caught but it didn't matter. She might force her way through but it would take her time. I considered finishing her here, I'd already drawn Ea after all, quite the honor for a rabid dog…but I heard Rider cry out and shoot in the general direction of my mongrel._

 ** _Natsumi –_**

I was relieved when chains came out to capture Beserker's limbs and pull her away from Gilgamesh.

"Stop it!" I heard Rider cry out and glanced toward the projected magical energy coming at me in time to put up shields. Several of the spikes shot at me were pushed away by Rider's arrows. She was helping me? Was it because I'd helped her earlier? I saw the pale Einzberg twins coming out of the woods…one of them was walking toward Beserker, so she was the one that had summoned the beast of a spirit. The other was walking toward me shooting magical spikes of energy. I managed to deflect most of them but they were beating into my shield relentlessly. The Einzberg's had incredible energy and magic…somehow the twins seemed even more capable than previous generations. They'd been the source of rumors for years and they were living up to them.

Rider leaned up, seemingly unable to stand for some reason, drawing her bow up. The sister walking toward me didn't look worried…but then she didn't have much reason to be. She was deflecting the blades from Gilgamesh's gates well enough. Then, none of us could have known. Rider calling her mounts hadn't been her noble Phantasm. Her arrow shot through the magical shield around the twin and cut deeply into the pale girl's chest. I blinked in surprise at the scene, hearing the other Einzberg scream at the scene.

"My debt is paid, we're even Archer's master!" Rider called, grabbing her human's shoulder. The pair of them seemed to almost disappear in a streak and whoosh of movement, and I couldn't blame them from withdrawing from the battle. Certainly, with the way they'd held up against Saber they had no chance against Boudicca while they were so injured. Gilgamesh wasn't really looking up to snuff either. He had wounds on his arms and face…they seemed small enough but seeing him bleeding at all was disturbing when I'd seen what he can do. He still held Ea but the blade spun lazily, as if the weapon was unconcerned with what was happening around us.

"She's dead…you killed her…!" I heard the second twin scream at me, her voice discolored with pain. Her sister then didn't make it? Dozens of spells shot my way, too many for me to defend against them all. But then there was a shadow between me and the attack. Gilgamesh had left the field to protect me…there were dents along his armor where he'd interjected himself between the second twin's spell toward me. Gilgamesh might have high claims about his perfection, but he had been injured and my own mana wasn't at its peak. Once Berserker broke her chains again this would not go well for us and if she did it before I had no doubt she couldn't do it again.

"We should withdraw." I said quietly.

Even if Rider had taken down one of the twins, it clearly wasn't the one commanding Boudicca. Gilgamesh raised a brow at me, then frowned, certainly he didn't like the idea of pulling away now. Ea began to spin more, drawing in air around it. Was he planning to use it again then? So soon? Didn't even he have limits?

"Stop." I whispered, drawn closer to him by the blade's inner gravity. "You'll destroy this whole area! The park is already decimated."

"The area doesn't matter." He replied. "I can finish Beserker."

"You are injured." I pointed out, not wanting to use a seal on him for this but fearing he would hurt himself if I didn't. The chains holding Beserker were already cracking and we didn't have time to argue. He'd be angry at me but there was little I could do about that. "Gilgamesh, I order you to take me and withdraw from here, take me to the safest place you know."

He let out a hiss of displeasure but he grabbed my shoulder all the same, I heard the chains shattering from Boudicca, the woman shrieking in frustration and her cries seeming to somehow match the pain of the remaining Einzberg sister. Boudicca threw her spear at us but we vanished before it reached us, swept into a golden dust that pulled us out of the decimated park. Gilgamesh was glaring at me but I didn't particularly mind this time since he would be safe this way.

I stumbled when we reappeared, he didn't catch me but I knew it was because he was angry not because he couldn't have. I didn't land too hard at any rate when I fell…I was on some sort of thick carpet. I couldn't really see where we were, there were stars in front of my eyes and the area was spinning. I always had a hard time when he took me with him when moving. I wondered if Rider's master was suffering the same thing? She hadn't quite done the same thing though. Thinking back on it I'd seen her move but it was just too fast for my eyes to follow…it wasn't the same thing Gilgamesh did.

"Are you only good for wasting your seals?" Gilgamesh snapped in undisguised disgust. He was walking away from me but I was still trying to compose myself enough to see. I couldn't follow him. Thankfully I heard him pause and move some things. Was he pouring himself wine? I wouldn't be surprised, I felt worse this time with the dizziness but at least with effort I stayed conscious and able to think. "All I've done for you and you pull me away when we could have finished another threat."

"I was worried about you…next time I'll let the Beserker bash you about when you've already finished a combatant." I retorted sharply. "Where are we?"

"Somewhere safe, stop wasting command seals." He answered, seating himself in a thin piece of furniture that looked a bit like wicker. "Come have a drink."

Why was it so hot? Where had he brought us? I managed to look around but a bright light was shining in an open window, a small breeze was picking up a thin sheer fabric and sending it waving. The walls seemed to be made of a pale-yellow stone and the thick carpet beneath me was a rug from a bear. There was a bed that filled up half the space of my bedroom, overly lavish, canopied with several silks and other fine thin smooth fabrics like those billowing in the window. It even smelled hot, there was a humidity in the air that made my skin sweat. Gilgamesh was standing nearby but his armor was gone, replaced with the half toga and many pieces of gold jewelry I'd seen on him in my vision. He didn't have the tattoo's he'd had on the beach so I presumed he was not at all concerned with safety.

"What do you mean? Couldn't you have taken us somewhere with air conditioning if you wanted to go to the tropics?" I complained, unsteadily walking a few steps to sit next to him in another of the chairs. Yeah it felt a bit like wicker but it was better than the stone floor even with a rug between it and me. I lifted the wine he'd left for me, taking an appreciative sip. "Thank you."

"There is no air conditioning here, if we wish to cool ourselves we swim, would you like to go to the pools?" He asked lazily, eyeing me over. Apparently, he'd gotten over the order I'd given him quickly enough but it reminded me I had to be careful now. I glanced at the back of my hand and sure enough more of the tattoo had faded away. I sighed and took a drink.

"So, you brought us to a hotel with pools but not with air conditioning?" I shook my head. "I don't understand you sometimes."

"My mongrel, you keep biting my hand and I'll be hesitant to feed you. You would compare my palace to one of your mortal brothels?" He pushed himself up and out of his seat to walk to a pair of doors not far from the window. Opening them to walk onto a balcony. I scrambled a moment to follow, his palace, then we were in… "Babylon."

It was lovely, a vast city spread out along a river basin, you could see well and far behind it, to mountains and the sea in the distance. Almost everything was visible from this dizzying height. I couldn't quite make it past the doors but I stared in surprise at what I was seeing. He'd taken me to his time somehow? Or was this a reality bubble? Was this where he would have returned normally after a death in a grail war? But humans couldn't go to their spirits thrones…

"How…how could you bring me here?" I asked, still staring at the view, but certainly mystified by what I was seeing. It was slightly off than in my dream but only because my angle was a bit different. This wasn't the throne room after all…but now that I was here I remembered glimpses of these mountains, this city, in my dream. It was all the same. "There's no record of any human being able to enter the Throne of Heroes."

"Have you not learned that I enjoy breaking the rules?" He asked, turning from where he'd been watching the city with me to walk back up to me instead, pressing me backward until I was against the doorframe. "I followed your order. There is no safer place than my city."

"You brought me to Babylon?" I heard my voice going a bit higher as I asked the question even though I already knew the answer. I felt dizzy all over again…certainly I knew the view from my dreams but now it was so much clearer…this wasn't just some vision.

"See what you like before we leave mongrel, we'll remain here until I'm at full strength then you'll never see Babylon again." He remarked, looking over his city still, he seemed quietly content with it – almost reminiscent. I looked back at it, it was lovely and from here it was like seeing it from a observation tower, we may as well have been in the sky for all the land the view offered. It spread out in various directions but it was gorgeous. Pools, rivers, trees, seemed to glitter in the sunlight, reflecting between various colored homes and stalls. It was little wonder Babylon had so often been described as a jewel, it was magnificent. I couldn't help but stare…

"I…it's wonderful." I breathed, realizing he had offered to show me around in his own bitter way and glancing to him before back at the city. "We can go there? How large is the Throne of Heroes?"

"As infinite as my empire." Gilgamesh answered with a shrug, I got the feeling he was watching me but when I glanced to him again to confirm he sipped at his drink. I must have been imagining it, he had no reason to pay attention to me after all. "We lack the time for you to see everything but I can offer you particular highlights of the city. Tomorrow however, today I'll need to show you around the palace."

"Right…" I said, glancing toward the view again before hesitantly following him inside when he turned to move back into his bedroom. "Thank you. I'm sorry I…"

I paused when he set a finger over my lips, swallowing at the closeness.

"Apology accepted, let us not dwell on what cannot be changed. Come, the throne is this way." Gilgamesh remarked, walking through another passage of the large stones.

 **End Chapter**

It's hard to keep having Gilgamesh surprise Natsumi but I think he managed. Though he lacks air conditioning so that sort of blows for the all mighty king lol. She's still shocked though. Darn Gilgamesh always breaking the rules – but it would be the safest place he knew. I worked on this much of the time since I last posted (and had a general idea before I posted the last chapter) but it'll probably be a while before I can post again sadly since I'll be out of my home for a while on a trip.

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

VP69 – I'll just say I'm not a fan of shirou…XD

Anthem – Thanks, I like a lot of styles really lol. I'm also a history minor so I like to try and find odd folks to throw in for spirits.

Ashley – And two now XD

Ara – Fair, I think fewer read Fate fics than some others I've written for.


	21. Undisclosed Desires

**Chapter Twenty-One:** **Undisclosed Desires**

 _"I know you suffered, but I don't want you to hide. It's cold, and loveless, I won't let you be denied… I want to reconcile the violence in your heart…I want to recognize your beauty is not just a mask…I want to exercise the demons from your past…"_

 **-Muse,** **_Undisclosed Desires_**

 _No matter how well-behaved or purebred a dog, it still has accidents from time to time. After all, even washed and groomed it is still a mongrel. Mine was frustratingly loyal, I saw the fear flicker in her gaze when she noticed I was bleeding. A rare occurrence but not unheard of in the grail war, still…it was too much for her. Lacking teeth, she did what she had to, and I knew it was trying to keep me safe when she ordered me away even if I despised running. It wasn't long before we arrived, the safest place I knew? Obviously, the place that was mine…brining her to Babylon was taxing but it was an order with a seal, so I had to comply._

 _Her sense of wonder and my understanding that her action was misplaced concern assuaged the worst of my irritability. It was further soothed by being able to see my city again, my throne wouldn't be far away and I'd walk there soon enough. By the time she stumbled after me to look over my city I had already dismissed much of my anger. I let her know it was a one-time trip. I would have added that she should feel honored but the way she stared was reverent enough that I didn't need to. I glanced to her as opposed to my home below, wanting to see her reaction to what was mine._

 ** _Natsumi –_**

I glanced at the walls but I didn't really understand the pictographic writing along substantial portions of them. I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I basically had time travelled, or at least as close as I thought it possible. This place in my time. It was utterly devoid of the life it had now, of the structure and beauty. It's still a dessert but everything has changed. I spoke before really thinking through the question. "Did you visit Babylon when you had your physical form? You were just gone for many years, was that a part of your travels?"

"Yes, we went to my old home on your world. Kirei insisted on it." He answered, his voice a bit less cheerful than a moment before. "I expect he hoped I'd grow more content in his cause seeing that your world had left my history in ruins."

"Oh." I realized I'd stumbled onto a sore subject. I didn't want to apologize, he'd just corrected me for that but I wanted to express my displeasure with how things had ended up somehow. "Well, I…prefer it like this. I don't think I'd want to see it in my world."

"No? I suppose not. It is more wretched than even many of your hovels now." He agreed, pulling back a curtain and leading the way into a large room I recognized from my dream. It was still pretty and it held the same view of Babylon below as the balcony. It was hard to believe this rich and impressive empire had been reduced to dust. I suppose I could relate to not knowing what to do with the world if everything I'd ever possessed had been destroyed. Able to call on his possessions wasn't really the same as losing his entire world.

The throne room echoed that thought, there was a throne and the pillows but it was barren of life. No guards, concubines, petitioners, or even the lion that had been at his side in my vision. Though he'd told me he had servants I didn't see any here. At least below you could see people moving, small enough from this distance that they may as well be ants beneath us. I bit my lip, it wasn't really normal for me to feel pity for the King of Heroes, but a pang of regret touched me for ordering him away.

"Whatever imaged history inspires your commissary it is best dismissed, I find your melancholy expression unsightly." Gilgamesh stated at my sad expression. Still, I couldn't really help it.

"What happened to you? Where were you before I summoned you to be my Servant in this grail war?" I asked, now seemed as good a time as any as we weren't fighting for our lives and he wasn't trying to seduce me. I ignored his slight about my appearance outright.

"You dwell on disagreeable drivel." He waved a hand over a shoulder as though to wave away a fly, though no insects were buzzing about us to bother him. His eyes remained on the city below instead of glancing at me however. I wondered just where his mind must be…in my vision of him he was always considering several things at once. Like a computer that simply had the capacity to run several different programs at the same time. It had been hard to follow even in a dream, so I supposed he must be considering several things at once as he looked down at his Bablyon. I followed his gaze, pressuring him wouldn't help me learn anything, if he wished to answer he'd do so on his own.

"Nowhere. I was nowhere." He said after several moments of silence. I'd already assumed he wouldn't bring it up again by the time he'd spoken. I glanced at him but he hadn't looked at me when he said it, his crimson gaze was reflecting the lights and colors of the glittering city beneath us. "It was quiet and I imagine best described as black as it lacked any feeling, vision, or other sensation of any kind. I expect it was what mortals consider death to be like."

I wasn't sure what to say to that…I'd basically brought him back from the dead. That's why he'd pulled himself out of the earth instead of just appearing in the circle. I'd expected it for certain but this was clear proof of that hypothesis. He was pulling himself up from the ground…perhaps he'd reformed about the very bones I'd placed there and I hadn't been able to make them out. Was he all the god he claimed to be if he could reject death itself not just after his time in Babylon before he became a spirit but even now when he'd been killed Shirou?

"I'm glad I called you." I stated. As many times as I'd regretted it since I'd summoned Gilgamesh, I suddenly didn't. Certainly, he wasn't easy to deal with but he sounded as forlorn as I ever expected to hear him when he'd stated he was nowhere. It had been hell for him, it was nothing but for a man that wanted everything it was horrible. A man that had more pride than anyone in the world had been made into nothing, what more insult could there have been? There wasn't a worse hell when it came to him than to cease to be. I realized I knew him more than most ever would…for I certainly wouldn't record his secret.

Maybe that's why so much information was lacking on certain legendary spirits, the masters that called them got connected and couldn't bring themselves to put some details onto paper. I wasn't sure if I could ever bring myself to do something to disrespect Gilgamesh even despite the fact he would probably slay me for it. It just seemed wrong to let anyone know what had happened to him. Everyone already knew more of the truth than they realized since most had believed him dead. That was as close to the truth as they would know.

"Your petty compliments clash with your prior commands," Gilgamesh responded to my words, looking back to me and leaning on the rail careless to the height behind him, "Is that pity mongrel?"

I stepped closer to him and despite the fact he was watching me I still reached out to take one of his hands. "It's strange. We lived in separate times, you are a creature that was dead but you are here now. You rally against my compassion but you don't back down from my touch, I'd say you want to feel something more than you did before the grail... "

Or maybe I just hoped that he did…

"I never retreat unless forced." He replied simply, still watching me and not withdrawing his hand or entwining fingers with mine, letting me do as I would. "I've rarely had such an impertinent master or lover. There is a charm to your uncouth dedication but this conversation is tedious. Let's see the gardens first."

He swept me up and while I let out of squeak of protest it was ignored and faded into the swirl of gold that accompanied his unique form of movement. The world grew bright and dark before seeming to explode into a kaleidoscope as my eyes and mind both tried to focus and fight for consciousness. I realized after a moment that unlike when we'd appeared in Babylon that this time Gilgamesh was holding me up so I didn't fall to the ground. I blinked in surprise at the change of scenery, the pale sunstone of the pyramid had been replaced by a pallet of color. The humidity was heavy on my chest and the heady smell of mixed flora wrapped around us.

The gardens reached well above us toward the sky, all manner of trees, shrubs, and other plants hung from various areas of the impressive structure he'd pulled us away too. It was as though we'd entered a fantasy world, the ground was dirt and grass grew from it that was neatly trimmed to make a path. From the roof hung long ivy of bell shaped flowers, beyond that further trees and bushes grew from almost every available surface that wasn't aqueducts running water through this complex craft of dirt. It was like a strange combination anthill bee hive crafted almost completely of plant life. I couldn't help but stare, even disoriented, at the unexpected majesty of it. The architecture seemed impossible and all the same here I was witnessing it, standing within the famed Gardens of Babylon. History wasn't even certain if they were real yet I walked inside them.

I was still staring at my surroundings when I felt my hands move and tore my eyes away to see Gilgamesh setting a small twig of grapes in my hand. He smirked at me and gestured for me to follow as he walked ahead, throwing a few of the small fruit into his own mouth as we walked. I moved after him, popping one of the grapes in my mouth only to find it watering almost immediately at the sweet burst of flavor. I stared around us until we reached a small clearing open to the sky. There was a small open air platform with shelter from the sun and pillars along the outside to hold it up. Inside were more pillows as I'd seen in the throne room and a small bath filled with clear water. I could look down at slants below us and above us both covered in green littered with fruit and flowers all the way down to streets beneath us where the market seemed to adopt the spectrum of color here for their tents and stalls.

"You lived here thousands of years ago?" I asked, I knew he'd confirm it but it was all difficult to believe.

"Presently we both live here now, at least for a while." Gilgamesh answered, moving toward the pillows. I likely would have continued to stare at the surroundings but a lion came around from another of the paths that connected to this one. I was about to cry out since it was running at my Servant but he had a bright smile on his face. He caught the beast as it pounced on him and began rubbing it's back, so all I could do was watch as it made small growling and scuffing sounds. It seemed happy to see him. Of course Gilgamesh would have a pet lion…what else?

"This is Izdu. Don't be concerned, he's fed often." Gilgamesh introduced fondly. "This is Natsumi, don't eat her."

"Gee, thanks." I stated drily before stepping a bit around them to move under the cover. In the sunlight, it was impossibly hot. I didn't know if I would burn here but it seemed reasonable to expect so, even if this was just some sort of impressive reality bubble that still made it real for the time being. After a few more ruffles to the beasts fur it seemed more content, laying on the steps up to this little haven in the gardens while Gilgamesh walked up to lounge on the pillows comfortably, calling a glass of water to hold out to me.

"Thanks." I stated, accepting the water. The heat was oppressive, I loved the beauty but it was hard to enjoy when I was being baked alive. I was sweating pretty heavily and made effort not to sit that close to Gilgamesh, I didn't see precipitation on his skin. Was he immune to the heat too? I wish I had special no sweat skin while still being comfortable in the heat.

"Master Gilgamesh," A woman had entered the clearing and she looked surprised to see him, moving immediately into a deep bow. "I am overjoyed by your return to us."

"Jezra, I have a guest." Gilgamesh pointed out gesturing toward me and then looking me over critically. "I forgot how fragile mortals are to the weather, help her undress and get in the bath then bring her some proper clothing."

"Of course, sire." The woman immediately moved forward to help me, coming out of her bow with an easy grace. She had on loose fitting silks that drifted gently on the breezes that came through this opening. I frowned at the idea of just undressing here in front of her, or Gilgamesh, who was watching without bothering to hide that he was. I frowned at him, how could he go from someone I was happy to be around to someone I would rather throttle in such a short time?

 **End Chapter**

LOL poor Natsumi. She is not doing well atm, it's hard being interested in a godlike creature that's all perfect. Gilgamesh is so rude, just laughing at her…tsk tsk.

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

Nada from 20.


	22. Butterflies and Hurricanes

**Chapter Twenty-Two:** **_Butterflies and Hurricanes_**

 _"Change, everything you are. Everything you were. Your number has been called. Fights, battles have begun. Revenge will surely come. Your hard times are ahead."_

 **-Muse,** ** _Butterflies and Hurricanes_**

 _Perhaps it was a side effect of the time I'd spent in the prison, but I found a new understanding for living vicariously through others. The humans had talked about it before but until now I'd found the concept alien and uninviting. I found myself enjoying my pets wonder, the beauty she drunk in with her eyes so readily, she'd forgotten me in favor of the capital and I couldn't blame her. There were few things worthier of attention than me, but this view was in those numbers. I found I liked to see her enjoy herself and wonder at my city. A new and unexpected feeling to be certain, but not a poor one._

 ** _Natsumi -_**

"On second thought, please go get my guest some extra clothing and leave them near the path. She is capable of undressing herself." Gilgamesh stated, probably thinking he was giving me some great offering by saving me some embarrassment.

"Really? You want me to just strip down and bathe? I don't exactly have a bathing suit." I pointed out. Though the water looked welcoming enough, it was in the shade of a small overhang from the structure we lounged in.

"Bathe nude, it's the usual way here." Gilgamesh answered, sipping his own water comfortably. "You'll start to smell unpleasant. I expect you'll shrivel up soon if you don't. The locals are more accustomed to the heat but it's surprising anyone was wandering to call on during hours that are this hot."

Despite my misgivings my clothes were starting to stick just from the sweat…I knew I probably would overheat if I didn't get into the pool. Fine, it wasn't like it wasn't anything he hadn't seen before after all. I pulled off my shoes, socks and pants first and started to strip down, trying to ignore the fact that he was watching me as I did. Way to make me feel like a self-conscious hippo after the thin graceful girl that was here just a second ago. Then I got my shirt stuck taking it off over my head and I knew any chance that I might hold a little dignity was gone when he started to laugh at my predicament. So much for enjoying the beauty of Babylon…

"I am just a jester to you aren't I?" I asked in frustration as I struggled in my wet shirt to get free. I was about to give him some more select words when I felt hands settle over my arms.

"I won't argue that you play the role well. Would you prefer it to a different position in my court?" Gilgamesh was using his good mood voice as he helped me untangle myself from the offending piece of fabric – I made a mental note to throw that shirt away.

"No, you aren't funny." The air was still warm but less overbearing when I got free. Gilgamesh was standing nearby, still amused and already undressed. I remained looking at his face after a glance to realize, I shouldn't have been at all surprised. I sighed and gestured at the bath, making no motion to take off my other undergarments. "Here we are."

He hooked my arm and paused me when I went to move toward the small pool, nodding at my clothing that remained. "Why are you so bashful exactly? It's nothing I haven't seen already."

"Maybe not but we're out in the open." I answered, sighing as he unhooked my bra with a smooth motion and I shook my head as I let him take if off. There seemed little reason to argue with him once he had something in mind. I took off the rest and got into the water before he got any other ideas, I was too hot for what his eyes were stating he was after. "Why is it you are so open about everything?"

"What have I to hide?" He asked, taking off his own clothes in a much flashier way as he climbed into the bath next to me. They faded away into the brilliant sands of his ability to call or dismiss anything he owned. "I have nothing to be ashamed of."

I should have known the concept of basic humility would go over Gilgamesh's head so I didn't press it. I leaned back against the side of the pool and looked around at the impressive garden. It was little wonder that so many had written of the wonders of Babylon. I had to admit that it was impressive enough that it reflected on his prideful personality well. He had ruled this place after all…

"My lord…I wasn't expecting you even with the report." Another woman, dressed similarly to the last but with a few pieces of jewelry had entered the garden. Apparently the servant girl had reported on him. It was so strange to see all these people calmly living in this other time and world as an extension of Gilgamesh himself. His ego was so large he'd crafted his own world from the past. Then, his people seemed to lack humility just as he did since she stood there looking at us both without hiding the fact she was doing so. "Should we expect you at court?"

"Lady Viana." He remarked lazily, not even looking up toward her. "I am otherwise engaged presently, this is Natsumi."

"A pleasure." The woman said automatically, swiftly enough that it was clear the courtesy was mechanical more than serious. "The court could always use your wisdom sire."

"While true, they'll make due. Don't pester Viana, it's unbecoming for a butterfly to buzz like a gnat." Gilgamesh's voice as still tired, and he was lounging enough that it was clear his threat was half-hearted. The woman seemed to notice just as easily as I had.

"Sire, I appreciate your compliment, but if neglected any beautiful voice grows hoarse." The girl replied without blinking at his displeasure. "There is much that requires the attention of a king and not mere attendants."

"Are you common Viana?" He asked, perking a brow at her. "It is uncouth for you to linger while I spend time with my betrothed."

I was content enough just to watch but…wait, what? Excuse me? I managed not to blurt out that we were in no way 'betrothed' because he wouldn't have said it unless he had a reason to but: no. I'm sure replying, 'Hell no would I marry the King of Pricks.' wouldn't have gone over well. Instead I just exchanged as neutral a look as I could manage with the now shocked noblewoman. She was staring at me in a way that seemed to scream how unworthy I was of her king…

"I was unaware you had gotten engaged my lord." She said after a moment. I smiled at her after Gilgamesh drifted closer and put an arm around me. I'd play along if it wiped the smug look off her face after her response to the 'news'. Even if it wasn't true, she didn't know that…bitch.

"I will leave you then." The woman bowed and withdrew. I waited until I couldn't hear her footsteps to turn on Gilgamesh.

"Engaged?" I hissed lowly in case anyone else just walked in on our outdoor 'retreat'. "What is this?"

"Don't become excited, it is a mere ruse. You must have a reason to be here, with me…particularly given I was gone for a time. It sufficed nicely as I'd rather spend my time showing you some of my realm instead of ruling it. The council does well in my absence but they can't help but desire me there." Gilgamesh answered with a small shrug, setting his drink to the side. I frowned at him. He was going to lie about an engagement to get out of working for a few days?

"Are you disappointed?" He offered an impish grin. "Do you think the throne room would look better with a second chair?"

"No, and no." I answered immediately, shaking my head. I didn't want that position. I settled for the floor for now. "Are you ever going to get over yourself?"

"Are you ever going to be honest?" He replied, eyes sparkling with mischief. At least he hadn't taken my immediate refusal as an insult. However, that appeared to be because he didn't believe me. "Just as well, you are wise enough to see I would never connect myself to a mongrel in such a way."

Marry Gilgamesh? Ew, no.

"I'm not a bigamist." I remarked with a shake of my head. "Besides, you aren't…this isn't…real. It's all silly, you're right, it's just a story."

"Oh? You bend to the idea quickly enough." Gilgamesh remarked, glancing at me then out toward the gardens. "Despite our play, I'll probably have to make some small appearance at the court to appease them and explain your place as my fiancé. I'll have Jezra take you to the markets, you can pick yourself something nice from the merchants. I expect you'll enjoy shopping for a short while, more interesting than following me to the court."

"Sure." I wasn't one of those girls that loved shopping more than anything else. I would like to see how politics worked in this time, or if it was really that different from our own. It was the only thing I'd ever seen Gilgamesh willing to make excuses for. He was the ruler but he still played the games. Was it because he wanted to then? I doubt he would do anything he didn't want to so I can't imagine he actually needed to go out of his way to appease them after all. It was probably just a way for him to pass the time and I can only guess he's great at it since he appears to be good at everything else. It would probably be interesting to see him speaking like a politician.

But I wanted a break from Gilgamesh. He had too easy of a time getting me to step outside of my box and I didn't like it. He made me feel vulnerable and confused. Then he kissed my neck, and there were certainly other things he made me feel that I wasn't totally accustomed to yet. I shook my head at him and pulled away to sit away from him. Thankfully he let me.

"Didn't I say it was too hot for that?" I asked, frowning at him.

"Sometimes it's better when there's a nearly intolerable heat…" He answered, grinning back. "We'll get to that later, after I make some arrangements. Either way, you should have more faith in yourself, mongrel or not you tether me to this world. Hold your head high, don't balk at any challenge. I'll send word to Jezra to escort you when you are ready, enjoy your bath."

He was gone, that grin almost seeming to hang in the air with his disappearance. Like a golden Cheshire cat. I sighed and let myself sink under the water. Screw legendary spirits and gods…why did it have to work like it did? As though I'd ever admit to him that it did make my heart jump when he said we were engaged. I knew it wasn't real, he'd told me so himself. There was nothing about my attraction to him that wasn't fabricated by him simply being what he was. I let out my breath, the bubbles running along my face and tickling my cheeks and forehead. Was I really going to be able to keep a lid on him or was I playing into his hands like everyone and everything else seemed to do?

I took a deep breath when I came back out of the water. Was I going to come out of this war sane? It was coming up faster than I ever expected. Gilgamesh was tearing apart the other spirits, even if they ganged up against him they couldn't defeat him. It was only Beserker and Rider left…and Rider didn't seem overly capable though her Phantasm was impressive enough. I needed to discuss what it was it could have been with Gilgamesh. She'd cut through the magical barrier of the twin as if it wasn't there. She'd also saved me…so had Boudicca…I didn't like the concept of having to send Gilgamesh to kill the spirits that had been so honorable toward me.

The grail war was cruel…

I hadn't really understood how much it was until I'd thrown myself into it. No wonder Shirou had been so against me doing it. It was more than I could have expected…particularly once I didn't even know what I wanted to wish for. I had before, but now that I knew what had happened to Gilgamesh I couldn't entertain the idea of Akasha anymore, I knew better. I'd been proud of my family name but now I wasn't sure if I could even be that since my ancestors had helped to create this farce. I'd still be in class with a family that was alive if it wasn't for the grail war…

Not that regret was going to help me…I also wouldn't be here…experiencing another age. How many people would pay fortunes to be able to have this view, to see a world outside their own? Even other Masters couldn't do this in the same way I could. Not by any record I knew of. This was more than a reality bubble, that much was clear. Gilgamesh wasn't the same as other servants, though, so I suppose I should have guessed he would continue to shock me. He had his own dimension…

Had the war never been invented my life would probably be simpler, but I wouldn't have taken Gilgamesh as a Servant either. For all my distaste at times, I had come to care about him…and I wasn't convinced that was just the augmented feelings he said I couldn't help. It was trying to separate what was real and what was fake that really confused me. Did I care about him or was it just some spell? Without knowing how could I make a good choice when the war had finished? I was running out of time to figure it out, that much was for certain. I only had two other Servant's left to go through…by then I'd have to know what I wanted to wish for. If I really wanted to help Gilgamesh adjust to the world, or if this was just some strange spell…

 ** _Natsumi -_**

It was still nearly intolerably hot outside. I probably would have been able to enjoy the sights, smells, and other experiences of the busy market. It was thick with people despite the elevated temperature, could they all just ignore it because they were spirits like Gilgamesh? Most of them at least had a small sheen of sweat unlike the half-god that had managed to startle me with his claim of a fake engagement. I could survive now that I'd taken on the much lighter silky and open flowing clothing that Jezra had brought me but I wasn't comfortable.

We had walked through several rows and I had to admit, the treasures that were gathered here were impressive. If they were even at this market area I'd have to assume that they're all things that Gilgamesh could call on since they were a part of his dimension in the Throne of Heroes. He wasn't overexaggerating when he said he had almost endless riches.

"Do you like working for Gilgamesh?" I asked Jezra when we took a break at a small restaurant under a canopy that was near enough buildings that it could take advantage of a crosswind. It was a nice break and there were quite a few other people enjoying it as well. I wasn't sure what any of the food was but I could hardly ask for French fries or yakitori.

"Of course, Miss Natsumi." The woman replied. I wasn't sure if her enthusiasm was totally genuine what with how a negative answer could reflect on her with me being the bosses 'wife' and all. "Gilgamesh has done me a great honor by taking me into his service."

Ugh. We're they all just reflections of Gilgamesh's psyche then? I wouldn't put it past him to build a world in worship to himself with no other actual souls inside at all. We're they all going to react this way if I asked them about him? I had hoped I would be able to get some sense of how he'd been in this time but I couldn't know if it was influenced by this being Gilgamesh's realm. I couldn't know if they were actually spirits following him or just fragments of his own massive ego.

"The King is incredible. I owe him my life. He took my mother and I both in after he saved us from slavers." Jezra answered me, and I realized that regardless of my hesitation that her story was probably as true as the streets or the dust on the ground. Even as a memory in his mind, it wouldn't be different. He'd really saved this woman back then. "We would have been sent away from Babylon and died in some horrible foreign land if it wasn't for him. My mother works as a maid in the castle and I aid him as best I can as a page and runner of errands."

"You're a page even though you're a woman?" I asked, curious.

"I have always been fast, and his lordship told me that's all that mattered to him. If I grew slow then he would find other work in the palace. He rarely casts aside those that work for him unless they do a very poor job of everything." Jezra went on to explain. "If we do not do well in one job, we are often reassigned to others until a fitting position is discovered. King Gilgamesh abhors waste, and he takes good care of us. He protects us from the gods that would see us punished for being who we are. I cannot imagine what would happen to our city without him."

No. I suppose she probably couldn't. Even if her spirit was real, she didn't seem to realize that she was dead or that this was all just not a part of the real world anymore. It seemed real enough to her and I didn't have the heart to tell her otherwise, or to describe what happened after Gilgamesh wasn't a part of their culture anymore. To her Gilgamesh was everything I'd read in my research, a hero who stood up against the gods themselves to rule the land in a fair and just manner. I supposed there might be more to his title King of Heroes than a matter of mockery. Then again, it was hard to tell. What I'd read about Babylon had said that slavery was common there and had set laws. It wasn't as though he stopped the practice with Jezra and her mother. I expect he just made sure it was reinforced correctly…he saved these two but I doubt he bothered to look in on others. After all, if people weren't good at anything they were cast out, Jezra had admitted that herself.

"Does he have wizard's here? People that use magic?" I had to admit I was curious. Where did I fit in exactly to what Gilgamesh wanted from me?

"He has court vizier's, many work as advisors or councilmen." Jezra answered with a nod. She didn't seem bothered by answering questions for me and I think we both appreciated the break from walking in the oppressive heat. "None are as strong as he is of course."

"Yes." I nodded. How would a wizard be stronger than a legendary spirit after all? One that was half-god, even the best wizards would have little chance. In the end, they were still human after all, like I was. "Does he have attendants? What do they do?"

"He has many that work for him but none that use that description specifically." Jezra said after thinking about it a moment as if to make sure she hadn't heard that job title used. "He has many positions in his court that aid him in numerous ways so I suppose we're all his attendants in some fashion."

…

So, my super special job title was just working for him at all?

"Don't misunderstand…we're all good at what we do. Gilgamesh is very good at finding just the right place for all of us. He often sees what we can be without us having any idea ourselves. There are many cases at the palace of people in positions they never would have guessed yet they excel." The woman continued to sing his praises. "He sees things that normal people cannot, it is how he keeps us so secure."

"I see." I nodded to her answers. I wanted to talk to someone else though. I wasn't sure I could take much more of the hero worship and I needed to see if everyone here spoke so highly of him. "Do you know Lady Viana?"

"Yes, Lady Natsumi." The woman nodded. "Many of us know her, she is a major part of the council here, a politician that isn't popular with the nobles but is popular with the people. She often speaks on the behalf of those too afraid or poor to do so themselves."

"I see. Do you think you could arrange a conversation with her? I don't think I can take much more of the heat out here." I said, it was honest but I also wanted to see what this woman felt about Gilgamesh. Her perspective had to be different than Jezra's. "I'd like to know more about the court and what's happening here."

"Of course, Lady Natsumi, let's go and I'll see if she is able to take audience sometime this afternoon." Jezra nodded to me, dropping a few coins on the table and I followed her away from the nicer part of the market with a sigh. There was growing to be more about Gilgamesh than I expected…

 **End Chapter**

This was a hard chapter to write in general and life has been rough lately so time and muse both have been highly argumentative unfortunately. Not sure if I like the Babylon crew or not yet…but more to come. Next chapter I reveal who Rider is…ooooh.

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

 _Vigilante24_ – Thank you very much and I sort of feel like most of the 'masters' are a bit ill-equipped to be of much use against other servants but I shall try to make natsumi less distress maiden-ey. Also, the heaven's chains talk about how the more divine something is the more they are likely to hold it – so they would have worked extra well on Hercules. Boudica was just a person so theoretically by that description she would have an easier time breaking them than the demigod.

 _Xellopon_ – Thank you. Sorry it takes me a while sometimes, hope you continue to enjoy.


	23. Arms

**Chapter Twenty-Three:** **_Arms_**

 _"_ _How many times will you let me change my mind and turn around? I can't decide if I'll let you save my life or if I'll drown. I hope that you see right through my walls…"_

 **-Christina Perri** ** _, Arms_**

 ** _Gilgamesh -_**

 _I am not a fan of misdirection, but I see the occasional purpose behind it. My Servant was too blinded by her devotion to allow me any real chance to battle. I wasn't sure if she would accept my ruse that I actually had to answer to anyone but she didn't protest. Then, I didn't appreciate her for any stunning intellect. It was just as well because only an argument would ensue if I told her my actual intentions were to hunt down one of the remaining Servant's without her presence. She should be capable of surviving a few hours without my presence in my own realm after all. Particularly since my people believed her to be my future wife. It would be a good trade off. She'd get to see a lost marvel of her world's history and I'd get to murder one of the Servant's without interruption from her misplaced concerns. There was a pang of regret for not seeing her enjoy the sights myself but there would be other chances to witness the world through her eyes._

 ** _Gilgamesh –_**

The world was just moving into the day, it didn't move on the same schedule as his Babylon. The sun was slowly casting the streets in a glow mixed with shadows that the gold loving god appreciated. After all, he did love beauty of all types and even the simplistic majesty of the sunrise was something he held a new appreciation for despite having seen it almost countless times. It was the celestial body he was often compared to after all…the golden rays of the sun. He that would banish the darkness from the world, the ignorance. That would reconnect the gods to the people…

Well, at least part of that had been true for them. He smirked at the thought as it fluttered across his mind. He then glanced away from the sunrise to the building nearby. It was a normal looking enough neighborhood. Some average citizen had picked up Rider as a spirit. They must have possessed extremely low spiritual power because Rider had been exceptionally weak outside of their Noble Phantasm. By his observation, she was a better archer than a Rider. Her Noble Phantasm appeared to be less about her ability to ride and more about her arrows cutting through anything. Which meant armor would do little good.

Gilgamesh watched calmly, his hands in the pockets of his black pants, his jacket waving lightly in the breeze. He had no reason to be here in armor given what he knew of Rider's powers. Besides, it was comfortable to wear casual clothing from time to time. He could have already finished her, and it was tempting, but he was curious. Some random human getting a spirit in a grail war wasn't unheard of, but the unlikely level of how worthless the spirit was had gotten him to pause and watch the home instead of just destroying the spirit outright. He wasn't sure just exactly who the spirit was and it seemed polite to at least learn the name of the woman that had saved his Servant before slaying her.

"There you are…I was wondering how much power I'd have to leak out before you noticed me." Gilgamesh remarked when the young woman materialized nearby with her bow in hand. "I wished for your name, it is fair after the service you offered my mongrel."

"I am Devochka, Princess of Ukok." She answered proudly. "Why are you here Gilgamesh? My Master is resting and I have no current quarrel with you."

"Nor with Bezerker I expect, but that doesn't change our fate all the same." Gilgamesh replied. "I'll be kind and finish it swiftly."

"Do you think…"

Her words cut off into a gurgle because of the blades that were sticking through her. She couldn't stand up to Gilgamesh, she had barely been able to stand against Saber. She tried to pull up her bow and arrow and impressively got off a shot that cut true, curling across one of Gilgamesh's cheeks. It would have been a more deadly shot but her aim was interrupted by blades cutting across her arms and fingers, sending the weapon tumbling from her hands after the single shot. She closed her eyes after a moment, seemingly at peace despite her swift end. Gilgamesh shook his head, who on earth thought it would be a good idea to summon the Siberian Maiden as a Rider?

The Princess was a famous member of a tribe known for riding, yet the body that was discovered had been found to have died from falling off a horse. The mortal that thought it a good idea to summon such a person was weak as well as uneducated. The grail was certainly not a perfect process, but all the same an interesting choice. The people had also been known for their marksmanship but not as well. For most Servant's then was their personality and powers a reflection of their Master's perceptions? It stood to reason that such would be true for anyone other than himself given he'd also seen a completely fabricated 'legendary' spirit before as well. That one had at least still been fairly good at their job, this one was just a failure. There was a first time to see everything…of course most spirits were mongrels but this one had been more like vermin. At least she'd been honorable enough to rescue Natsumi, she'd been given a quick death as a mercy…as opposed to letting her have any false hope that she could survive.

Now then, to retrieve her Master and force him to hand over his command seals. With Natsumi wasting hers, a few before the final battle would be wise. Besides, they'd also need to sacrifice one of the Masters to power the grail…and it was this one or Beserker's master. Gilgamesh grinned to himself, the end of this war was closing in and he could gain a new physical body. The world would be his yet again…

It was something to hesitate over once I went into the building and the mongrel scrambled away to shiver in fear. Was I about to hand over extra command seals? To give any individual even a modicum of power over me? It wasn't as though Natsumi needed the seals, with only one that remained she would be wary to use it so foolishly as she had before. Still, she was hardly skilled at keeping herself safe and being able to call me from a distance or command greater uses of my power would be useful…particularly if she needs protection again before the war is over. A means to an end, or a required evil in this case, no matter how disagreeable it was better than losing her as a tether.

It wasn't pity for the mongrel. The whimpering creature in front of me didn't matter to me either way. If he lived or died made no difference. He wouldn't be worth much energy to the grail…and if any recent war was a good indication then the Master of the last of my opponents would make the best vessel for the grail. This coward was only worth his command seals, and I couldn't have him give them to Beserker's master so there weren't many options for him.

 ** _Natsumi –_**

There was a sharp pressure on my skin that got my hairs to stand on end, but as quickly as I'd noticed it, it had disappeared. I heard others in the room gasp or cry out. The god had risen from his throne, he'd been there, taking the man's hand off my neck faster than any of us could follow…the man could only gurgle, a result of the blades that stuck from him. A reminder of the power, the powers that Gilgamesh used to keep the court safe. He touched my face and I glanced at him, but he was looking at my neck not my eyes, checking to see if I'd been cut. After a moment, he seemed satisfied that I had not and let go, turning around to head back to his seat.

"Lady Natsumi." The voice pulled me from the dream. Was that the same woman I'd seen before? Hesatria? Gilgamesh was telling the truth when he told me she'd been fine and that he hadn't punished her. He'd even paused to look at her critically. Her thoughts had been admiration despite the fear that she'd come so close to losing her life. I felt it clearly enough. "Are you not well? You look ill, has the heat been too much?"

"No, no I just must have fallen asleep a moment. You startled me." I answered to Lady Viana, I had been waiting for her when I'd nodded off. It couldn't have been more than a short moment but all the same I hadn't realized how tired I was after the day wandering the markets here. I sat up straighter, running a hand over my hair. "I apologize, thank you for seeing me."

"Of course, Lady Natsumi, anything for the future Empress." The woman replied with a forced politeness, she didn't like me. Her eyes still told all the story I needed, I was nothing compared to what someone would expect for Gilgamesh. I was nowhere near a goddess after all, and it was only natural that his people would expect that for him.

"You, disapprove of Gilgamesh's actions?" I asked.

Her eyes flickered displeasure at my casual use of his name but I didn't really mind, she had already decided to dislike me. I wasn't going to go out of my way to make her happy when I wouldn't be here very long and I was unlikely to ever return. I waited calmly and after a moment the woman glanced away from me out the window. It seemed to take sheer power of will to pull her lips out of the pursed expression.

"I would never question my lord's choices. If it brings him joy then it brings me joy." The woman said, though it was obvious this was a lie.

"Look, I don't care if you tell me the truth. I am trying to learn more about Gilgamesh. Does he have other wives?" I had to pretend this false engagement was happening after all.

"His lordship is not wed, there has never been someone good enough for him." She said directly, frowning at my ignorance to this fact. "Until now I am told. I have always known our leader was fickle, but do you seriously know so little about him?"

 _"_ _More than you think you uppity…"_

"I know less than I'd like." It was also honest. That was why I'd spoken to Viana, she seemed less lost in hero-worship at first but now I wasn't quite as sure of that first observation. "I realize you don't like me, and that's fine, but I want to know your thoughts on Gilgamesh. Is he a good leader? He doesn't have wives, but does he have children?"

I was already surprised to hear that despite many concubines that Gilgamesh had never taken any wives at all. He certainly appeared to have slept with many women, did he have a ton of children?

"Gilgamesh is not always completely responsible, but he is an incredible leader and he has made our city not just safe but prosperous, famous the world over." The woman answered seriously. I knew she meant it. She might not agree with everything he did but she had a lot of respect for him. "He has no children, he can decide when his seed impregnates a woman. He enjoys the pleasures but either has no desire for children or has not found someone he wishes to create a child with."

He can control when he has kids? That must be a nice ability, personal birth control. Men in our world would probably kill for it. He's never had a desire to have any of his own? Not too surprising, he doesn't seem like someone that could focus on another person long enough to take care of them. At least he was responsible about it…

"I see." I answered, a bit torn as to how I felt about the news. At least I shouldn't worry about our time together resulting in any major surprises. "Thank you for the answers Lady Viana."

"Anytime Miss Natsumi, is that all you'd like to ask about?" The woman replied.

I had a lot of questions but most of them she probably didn't know the answers too so I nodded to her wordlessly. I was wondering just where my servant had wandered off to when he appeared, like a devil from nothingness to shove a bloody boy in front of me who was sobbing incoherently. I glanced between them questioningly, furrowing my brow after the moment of my eyes being wide.

"What are you doing?" It seemed I was going to ask him this a lot.

"Go on, give them to her." Gilgamesh encouraged the boy. I realized then that he was familiar, he was the kid that had been commanding Rider. He still had two command seals on his hand. Was Gilgamesh serious? He'd just gone off and kidnapped the guy? I frowned at him.

"What were you doing? You said you had work to do." I pointed out but I already had recognized his deception. There was a long mark on his cheek that was bleeding by the look of it, so his battle must have just ended. "What if Boudicca would have been there?"

"Are you whimpering again?" Gilgamesh asked, frowning back at my words before pushing the boy forward toward me and turning toward a window. "Did I not say I would retrieve his command seals? Does it not make you feel better that we are one step closer to finishing this?"

"I…" I put my head in my hands rubbing my eyes and trying not to think about the continued sobbing happening nearby. "…fine, but once he hands over his seals you let him go."

Gilgamesh eyed me skeptically but I spoke before he could argue.

"Is it not beneath you to sully your blade on a mongrel? Or to keep him in your realm?" I tried a different tactic.

"No need for your poor attempts at manipulation." He held up a hand, he sounded slightly insulted. "The boy will be returned shortly."

"Here." I leaned down to pick him up from the floor, offering a cup of water the servants had brought to me. "Try to calm down. You'll be okay."

"But Rider…" He muttered, pausing his sobs to sip at the water I handed him. "How…how are we here?"

He seemed to realize for the first time that he'd been pulled through worlds. All the time was Gilgamesh surprising everyone around him, even me after these days that felt like weeks. I had barely scratched the surface of what I really understood about him. I shook my head at the boy, nodding toward his hand, I didn't trust Gilgamesh's patience.

"Try not to think about it. Your seals." I pointed out.

The boy nodded at me, glancing toward Gilgamesh again sadly but he wasn't looking at us anymore he was looking at another part of the city, as if he could see something happening in the distance that we could not. I waited as the boy performed the ritual that burned into my hand and created more of the mystical tattoos that forged my connection with my servant. I watched them vanish from his hand. He nodded silently, as if sort of gravely content.

"He won't win." The boy whispered as he disappeared. "You should leave him."

"My realm cannot hold those unassociated with the grail war." Gilgamesh remarked at my surprise at the boy's exit. "He has returned to your world."

Then Gilgamesh never had any intention of murdering the boy. I sighed, I supposed I should have a bit more faith in him. After all, he hadn't broken any rules of the war that another participant hadn't broken first. For all his self-importance, he was steadfast in his sworn word. I walked closer, and whatever my intent had been changed when I saw his face. There was a line of blood across his cheek, but unlike previous wounds he'd taken, it wasn't closing. I stared in shock and reached up but he caught my hand before I could mar my fingers with any red.

"You are hurt." I pointed out, unsure of what else to say. He'd had other wounds but they'd always closed quickly…blood was still running along his face though he wiped it away. That was part of why he'd turned from me while I was speaking with the boy… "How can you still be bleeding?"

"The girl may have been incredibly incapable as a Rider, but as an Archer her skills were top notch. She could cut through anything and keep it from being able to stop her blows, that was her Noble Phantasm." Gilgamesh stated, still apparently unconcerned with the bleeding. "It will close eventually, as all wounds do."

"I could try and stitch it…or maybe, don't you think you should take your am …" I was about to suggest his ambrosia when he fell forward, grasping the window then looking at me with the first bit of alarm I'd ever seen on his face. He stumbled and managed to get himself to a seat uneasily. I swallowed in fear as I watched him and followed him. His cheek was starting to blacken around the spot that was still bleeding, though it had slowed it was letting out a crimson ooze instead of blood. This sudden weak change in my Servant made my own knees weak. Was he dying? What was wrong with him?

"Gilgamesh!" I shook his shoulder as his eyes slid shut. "Wake up!"  
"Stop barking…" His complaint came out slurred, like a man who'd had too much to drink. I shook him again and he opened his eyes wearily. "Perhaps I underestimated her…I didn't expect she'd have poison that could work on gods."

"What do I do?" I asked, staring in shock at what he was saying. What could I do about a poison that was divine? I needed some sort of direction. "Where is the ambrosia?"

He didn't answer, his eyes were shut again and I knew even as I yelled at him more he wouldn't return him to consciousness this time. Dammit Gilgamesh, I told you not to do this and then you go and get yourself nearly killed. I shook with my rage and horror, all mixed together in this uncertain and unwelcome realm of Gilgamesh suddenly not being the perfect creature he'd presented himself as. Certainly, I knew he'd been defeated before…in other wars it was recorded. I knew my own adopted father had slain him once. Yet, on our journey I'd gotten comfortable and for all my protests I had never expected to see him like this.

He was already getting paler somehow, and his hand felt cold beneath mine. Was this what the boy looked sad about? How had he even gotten something that could do this to a Servant? I didn't even know what sort of poison it could be. Our time together was flashing through my mind and while I wanted to use his ambrosia I didn't know where it was, and I certainly doubted I would reach it in time for it to be of help. Yet, what always heals a Servant or offers them energy? I knew it would be painful but the only real choice I had if I wanted to save him was to fuse those magic circuits he hadn't on our first meeting to him. He'd done it without asking me, and I'd never attempted it before…if I failed we'd both die. I gripped his hand, growing cooler in mine and swallowed, was I really willing to risk my life for Gilgamesh?

 ****The boy had said it before he fully disappeared, that I should just leave him to his fate…but where would that leave me? Even if I sacrificed the god in front of me would I be trapped in his realm forever with the command seals settled on my hand? I shook my head, I knew that even if I wouldn't be trapped here I couldn't do it. I couldn't just leave this creature to die when I had an idea as to what lay in store for him if he did. Whatever this strange relationship we had was, it was something I'd planted, something I'd strangely nurtured, and I was responsible for it.

I gathered my arms around him and pressed my forehead into his before letting out a cry of pain but I refused to give in. I could hear him scoffing at me balking at; 'something as unworthy as discomfort'. Gilgamesh was impossible, irritating, insolent, and utterly impolite…he had exceptionally few factors I could consider redeeming but it didn't matter. He was still mine, and I wouldn't just let him go…

 **End Chapter**

Gilgamesh politeness – learning your name before he kills you…but only if you were helpful…otherwise no mercy for you. XD I also must note that not all my history is exact, some are rumors and some are uncertain possibilities but I tried to use close descriptions to actual history when possible. I am still amused by the poor Siberian Maiden's history XD. She got the sort of last laugh? What with divine poison and all…

 _-Aura_

 _P.S._ Natsumi is so dedicated.

To my reviewers:

 _Anthem_ – I giggled at Gigladick way more than I should have. His pride could not be contained by a single dimension alone obviously. Maybe there are more? I wouldn't be surprised. Well, down to one Servant to go…and you know, saving your own. Poor Natsumi…don't forget to pray for her…


	24. Pain

**Chapter Twenty-Four:** **_Pain_**

 _"_ _You're sick of feeling numb. You aren't the only one. I'll take you by the hand, and I'll show you the world you can understand. This life is full of hurt, when happiness doesn't work. Trust me and take my hand, when the lights go out you'll understand."_

 **-Three Days Grace Lyrics,** ** _Pain_**

 ** _Gilgamesh –_**

 _A jumble of shades and flickering faces curled before my dizzy vision. I was aware at some level that I'd been poisoned, that the distant muffled calls of my name were my Servant, but it didn't register in the manner it should. Whatever the Rider had gotten ahold of, it didn't bode well that I had very quickly gotten to the point of unresponsive. I was capable of considering the negative connotations of something being able to poison me, a god among men but I couldn't act on that. I had used too much energy for my body to argue with the sweeping darkness as much as my mind wished for it._

 _There were waves of quiet that were growing heavier between the cries of the human that had been shaking me. I only drifted further away though, out on an abyss of silence that would have drown me while I was unable to lift a hand to swim. I, who had cried out and drug myself from nothingness was being pulled back to its deliberate softness. A sly master death can be, she offers a promise of peace life cannot. I was never a creature content with harmony however, and when the ocean started to burn I recognized the demons around me, I saw the flicker of devils in that dark hell. The pain she offered, it was the only light I could have wanted. It offered me the strength to pull myself free of not just above the waves but that bottomless pool that wanted to devour me._

My return to consciousness was accompanied by the rare need to gasp for air, I'd been closer to drowning in that blackness than I cared to admit. My body was alight with the electric sensation of power, raw energy that curled through my veins and across my skin. So infused the tattoos often reserved for extra strength had shown themselves to regulate the influx of mana. The poison was burning rapidly with the energy, divine or otherwise it stood no chance with this much power coursing through me. My cheek was on fire but it mattered little, pain was a welcome alternative to the void. I was more concerned by the dead weight on my chest.

Nearly burned to nothing by fusing as many of her magic circuits to me as she could, my body had greedily absorbed her mana to the point that she had lost consciousness. Her shell might have been beautiful but within she was as hollow as I'd nearly been. I'd lacked the control until I woke to measure how much I pulled from her to heal. Yet, that very connection was saving her as well, had she only poured the mana into me from one side my form would have drained her to nothing but because we were now fused she drew some power from me in return, it had saved her.

The initial urge was to push the mongrel away, but I couldn't do that, she'd saved me after all, again. Instead, I pushed a strand of hair from her face but she didn't budge or make any sound, there was no sign at all that she had the faintest inkling of my presence. A bother but a forgivable one given the unique circumstances that had led to her slumber. She had gambled her ability to use magic to connect us, put her life at risk, all for me. Had she grown that attached then? There was more to her attraction than the magnetism any human would feel for the divine. The ambience I had could inspire someone to remain close and even a small measure of trust but deep loyalty? The ideal of risking one's life for mine? It took years of indoctrination for any god to accomplish that by divinity alone. No, it was far from my non-human lineage to blame for her actions, she cared about me on some other level.

Almost all of her magical circuits had been fused to me, to the point that being parted would be difficult at the most simple explanation. She was now a tether beyond the Grail War, this newly forged connection had made certain of that. I would have been angry if it wasn't for the irony. The enemy had given Rider a poison that could harm even the gods and it was a mortal tie that had worked to make it easy for my body to reject. I laughed at the absurdity of it. Gilgamesh, King of Heroes, saved by one of his many mongrels. A notably more tolerable dog than the rest but all the same a follower. I could hardly be angry, this was not exactly what I would have picked but a far cry from the void. Not to mention was I not a god of experiences? This was a new one, that couldn't be argued. What new vices could this connection offer then? Would there be something particularly spectacular waiting for us? If it weren't for her unconsciousness I would have spent some of this new abundance of energy on more amorous pursuits.

"Natsumi." I spoke her name, nudging her slightly in hopes she would hear me. I needed to thank her after all, it was only natural given she'd done the same for me on the many occasions I'd rescued her. I was, if nothing, impeccably polite. Yet, she didn't move and as I touched her arms to shake her I frowned. Her body was growing cool. Had she spent so much energy that she couldn't recover? I pulled her up closer, her body a dead weight, while nothing to me, was a sign of how unaware she was.

"Natsumi!" I called her name louder this time, not expecting this…

 ** _Natsumi –_**

 _Empty._

 _The way the house felt the first time I came to the estate. It was exactly how I imagined the ground was even as my father's coffin was being lowered and I fought to hold back the tears. There was a hole suddenly, a crack in my heart, in my very spirit that crumbled my resolve. I felt like I was falling, falling forever, the way Alice did…except there weren't creative items around me in a rabbit hole. I was alone, and rapidly descending away from everything I knew. It was difficult to even keep a grasp on what I was, who I was, in this shadowed madness that enveloped me. Did it even matter?_

 _Had I done something to deserve this silence? Somehow the quiet seemed like the worst, even when I opened my mouth nothing happened. Either I didn't scream, or I couldn't. It was hard to tell the difference, or even if I had a reason to bother protesting in the first place. I could ignore it all and then not worry about it, the black had wrapped me tightly in a cacoon of nothingness, who was I to argue with it? I didn't know who I was, what point would there be?_

 _"_ _Natsumi!"_

 _It was distant and light, but in the void anything was as glaring as bright daylight after stumbling out of a cave. I heard it though, it was impossible to ignore or dismiss anything in the difference of this pit. Natsumi? Was that my name?_

 _"_ _Natsumi! Wake up dammit! Fight!"_

 _Fight? Why? Did I really want to wake up? What reason would there be to wake up?_

 _I was hot…_

 _The emptiness wavered, a dizzy feeling swept over me. I'd been touched…something had pressed into my lips. I could feel pressure there…warm, insistent demand that was impossible to dismiss even in the dark. Yet, there wasn't anyone here…where was I?_

 _I was Natsumi Tohsaka._

I shocked awake, realizing a moment later that Gilgamesh had his lips pressed into mine searchingly but the embrace was short before he drew back to look at me. He had a rare expression of shocked concern on his face and all I could manage was to look back at him. What had I just witnessed? Was that what his time on the other side of the grail had been? Had he really been in that strange hell of meaninglessness? What worse fate could the greatest hero in the human world had than to drift into an abyss where he even lost a sense of himself?

Is that where he was before I'd pulled him into this war? I was sure of it.

I leaned back in, returning his kiss this time. I wanted to feel him there, his lips, his strong arms around me, my body pressed into his. I didn't care if anything else was around or a danger, I just needed in that moment to feel…to have the sensation of anything. I would have lost myself to him forever if only he would make me feel anything at all…but he pulled away, seemingly amused at the pout I offered.

"While I appreciate you pulling me out of the proverbial fire, we have work to do. There is still a servant that remains and others that are pulling strings." He stated, his arms squeezing slightly as though he was as loathe to release me as I was to let him. "The same people that offered Rider such a rare poison will have other plots in place. We have to presume the same was given to Berserker."

"You're okay." It was all I could say, relived tears threatening in my eyes as I looked down at Gilgamesh from where I laid on him. His cheek wasn't even scared now…he was as perfect as he'd always been. I was relieved and surprised when he pulled me a bit higher to press his forehead into mine.

"I am more concerned with you. Your magical circuits must ache after that rash rescue." He said, amused at me as he always was. "Are you all right?"

Had he ever seriously asked me that before?

"How don't you have a scar?" I asked, turning his face to give his cheek a throughout look. Still concerned some of the poison might have been missed.

 ** _Gilgamesh –_**

Her emotional relief was justified, I had nearly been killed after all. I didn't share a certain Berserker's ability to regenerate almost endlessly. I set a hand on her back, caressing her skin lazily as we stayed here. I did want to be off. I knew it was wiser to finish the last opponent sooner than later but after the near death experience I felt I'd earned a few minutes laziness. She was probably nearly in shock after what had happened, while she'd made small gestures at my not being capable they'd always been out of fear not lack of capability; otherwise I would have corrected her much more aggressively in the past.

"How don't you have a scar?" She leaned back again to look at me, staring at my cheek intently.

"There are several perks to being part god." I quipped, amused at her in depth stare at my cheek. She'd even touched my face and turned it to make sure she had a steady look. It was a bit amusing, seeing her acting as a nursemaid when I was the one to rouse her. Perhaps I'd find her a fitting uniform to match the attitude. "However, I think it wise if we return to the real world now. I am unexpectedly full of energy."

"Are you sure? Didn't you just say Boudicca could have the poison too?" Her eyes wrinkled at the corners with her worry at the same time her brow creased.

"I expect she does. Whoever was behind the attack on me, likely would have given it to anyone they could. The only reasons others didn't possess it is because they didn't expect me and I made short work of so many of the others." I answered calmly, reaching up to pull her hand down and look at her directly since she'd had more than enough time to fret over my non-existent scar.

"But…" She looked uncomfortable. "We just got here."

"It is a place out of time Natsumi, you cannot remain much longer." I answered, laughing at the skeptical look she leveled me. "There are some ways it could be arranged, but it is not required now. We have a war to finish. Are you not ready to end it?"

"I want it done but not if you die in the process." She said with a frown. "That was the agreement right, that you live and I get a wish."

"That will require murdering the twin that remains." I said. "While I am unconcerned with a random mongrel's fate I'm not sure you feel the same."

"Adali and Uli Einzbern." I saw the distaste in her face. "They aren't a loss to anyone in the world. I don't know which one ended up getting Berserker but them being a twin down will be a good thing. I can take out just one of them."

"That's more what I've grown to expect. I doubt they'll be alone though. If anyone on the earth had the ability to procure that poison then there will be more mages present. They do not want to see the world in my hands." I pointed out.

"Whose fault is that?" She frowned at me, steadily acting more like herself now that the shock was wearing off. I was sure I'd come to pity the change but for the moment she needed that spark. We'd be walking into a fire after all.

"All things are the fault of the leader good or bad, I take no offence to the natural order." I answered without concern before lifting her up. "I'll focus somewhere familiar, wouldn't want to lose you in the middle of the transfer."

The glare she leveled me was adorable since the transfer had enveloped us both before she could start barking…

 ** _Natsumi –_**

 ****"Dammit Gilgamesh." I snapped at him the moment I caught my feet and was coherent enough to speak. "We were supposed to talk about coming back to the real world. What if we would have appeared in the middle of an attack?"

I lowered my voice mid complaint so I was hissing in irritation as I looked around. I knew the place all right. We'd specifically stopped coming here after Assassin had set it on fire. The explosion hadn't reached the basement but it looked like it could have. The ground was still torn up where I'd first called him only a short while ago, it seemed like so long now – months instead of days. It was as I'd left it other than a tiny bit of dust that had barely started to form. I hadn't been down again since I'd summoned him, I didn't realize just how much the floor and circle had been destroyed in my spell.

There wasn't a point in blaming myself for any sort of miscast, and I doubted that was the case anyway. I expected it was more the unique circumstances of Gilgamesh's summoning that had left it this way than me having an issue with the spell.

"I…I'm glad I summoned you Gilgamesh. Wherever you were…" I shuttered, unable to finish my statement at the memory of nothingness that had nearly pulled me off if it hadn't been for him calling out my name. Is that how my summoning had worked for him.

"Natsumi." He was quiet a moment, then he kissed my forehead in a gentle way I hadn't come to expect from him. "I am glad as well. I am sorry you shared that particular memory."

It was common knowledge that Servants and Masters shared memories after a while if they were connected enough. Mostly Masters having visions of their Servants. Was that really what it had been like? It had been mere moments for me…how had he survived years in that hell? As much as he frustrated me, I had to admit that he was constantly surprising me as well.

"For now, let's go find the last Servant." He said, moving back to the topic at hand and walking toward the steps to go up.

I sighed and followed him toward the steps. "Don't you think they'll be watching the place?"

"Highly likely, that is the point." Gilgamesh answered with his usual non-concern. "The best prizes are caught with lure, and I am as shiny as they come."

"Yes, but I still am not as strong as you are…what do you expect me to do if they just swamp us with mages?" I answered, irritated at his gun-ho blast down the door and worry about traps after running inside approach.

"You'll be fine Natsumi, calm down." He assured, walking upstairs and just as the first night he paused to look in the refrigerator. "Want to make something while we wait? I can't imagine it'll take them longer than thirty minutes or so."

I rubbed my temples. Why had I saved his life again? I was about to speak up but then I noticed he was near me, leaning close to my face and I stared back silenced by the quiet hunger in his eyes. I refused to back down to him after I'd saved his life. "I will talk to you any way I want, I saved your life I ca…"

He paused me by leaning in, his tongue interrupting by tracing the bottom of my lips. I backed up after a moment, blushing and staring at him. I knew he didn't have an issue with being seen by anyone in any form, but… "Is now really the time for that?"

"It seemed the most expedient way to quiet you." Gilgamesh smiled at me and nodded toward the door. "Come, we shouldn't wait here. You'll lose this hovel you are so fond of."

"My house? Yes, I'd like to keep my house as undamaged as possible." I jumped to follow him, scowling at his suddenly chaotic behavior. Was this because I'd opened up my circuits and we'd fused? He was acting even more bizarre than usual. Had he really just made a call on what to do in hopes of sparing my feelings? It was backwards, but still there…in a Gilgamesh styled way.

Was I reading into it too much? Now that I had a moment of quiet since I woke while we walked I couldn't help but wonder what sort of side effects that might cause? Obviously, it'd given him a lot of energy, I could feel it now…emanating from him. Is this really a reflection of my own power? Or is it reflected and strengthened more by his own natural ability because of what I'd done. There weren't too many cases where Servants and Masters fused magical circuits…once the war was over and the Servant left it would weaken the Master's abilities considerably…but I suppose I didn't need to worry about that.

"They'll be here soon. Figure out what you were going to wish for yet?" He asked and I retained the frown I'd already been wearing.

"I'd have liked more time to think about it but you drug us here without us discussing it." I muttered, annoyed that he was eyeing me in amusement. At least he'd taken us to a building under construction. There was a part of the lot that was open and we'd risk fewer human casualties here.

"Am I privy to what you wish for then?" He perked a brow at me.

"No. That's not what…never mind." I frowned at him again. I knew he got the point and was being purposefully obtuse to annoy me. I had what, minutes if that to figure out a wish? Well, I'd had more time than that but I'd never really picked anything. There wasn't much I wanted, not really. I didn't know myself enough to just start making wishes, yet here I was…

My thoughts were interrupted by a bullet being deflected away from me, several were cut off by spears, swords, or other weapons that had appeared through Gilgamesh's gates.

 **End Chapter**

Coming down to the wire here. Shouldn't be TOO many more chapters before they finish up the Grail war. This chapter was super hard to write. I redid it like 4 times. I also have worked on it while playing some FGO this week. Love it so far. PM if you want to add me to your friends list : )

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

Anthem – LOL yeah I don't really like the FGO Boudica, I didn't even realize she was a thing still I started playing it lol. Whoops. I tried to get people that WEREN'T in the series.

The Rupture – It wouldn't have mattered, that was Rider's Noble Phantasm, that she could cut through anything with her shots. If she wasn't so outmatched by Gil she would have done worse damage than a cut.

Ashley – Glad you were so happy. Here we go again : )


	25. Rise

**Chapter Twenty-Five:** ** _Rise_**

 _"_ _When, when the fires at my feet again. And the vultures all start circling, they're whispering, 'you're out of time' but still I rise. This is no mistake, no accident. When you think the final nail is in. Think again. Don't be surprised, I will still rise."_

 **-Katy Perry,** ** _Rise_**

 _There is a thrill that accompanies the rare times when I must put effort into those I combat, to have some vague threat to myself on the field of battle. As opposed to the countless times when there is no need for it. Over the centuries I'd sometimes grown so bored with the motions that I lost as a result. It wasn't just pride that blinded me when I fell during the previous war, despite widespread belief. I lacked the interest in wasting energy knowing where any battle would end up._

 ** _Natsumi –_**

 ****I frowned and threw up my hands, muttering the incantation to put a shield around us. A large shimmering wall flickered into place. Bigger than I'd meant it, and dome shaped over both of us, it didn't even flicker as more bullets bounced from its surface.

Power had curled through me like a river that had busted its dam, it had flowed out into the shield around us now. I looked at my own hands and back to Gilgamesh.

"See, I knew you could take care of yourself." He stated without as much snark as his voice would usually have, he'd been surprised as well. I heard people screaming outside of our little hide away. They were yelling orders to each other, sometimes being cut off by blades shot through them. He walked outside my shield and I was about to cry out but he glanced over a shoulder at me, red eye narrowing slightly as his armor shimmered into place around him. "Do not leave this safety."

It wasn't a suggestion. I paused without following him, as much as I would have liked to I knew it was unwise. The bullets could bounce from his armor but not from my clothes. Moments after he left the protection he blocked a charging Boudicca with another of his endless arsenal. She roared at him, turning and coming at him from another direction and driving him away from the shield. I wanted to watch but spells were hitting mine now, and it was beginning to flicker slightly, Gilgamesh hadn't been wrong that there were mages here. It felt a little like the whole of the organization had descended on me.

One sent a line of fractured light across the top of the dome, a screech of pained rage that matched the Servant nearby came with it. I knew that mage was my greatest danger, the Einzberg twin that had lived was running at me with another spell already in hand. My barrier wouldn't last without a backup so I had no time to watch my Servant fight, I had my own opponent to take care of.

 ****The shield shattered just before a new one took its place. At least for the moment I was safe for a short while longer. Other mage attackers were more worried about throwing things at Gilgamesh than me, though it didn't seem to be doing them much good either way. I wasn't sure I liked him taking all the heat for me but I couldn't exactly complain right now. I was still trading spells with one of the most powerful mages alive, but then I wasn't anything to sneeze at…I was my grandmother's daughter after all. I refused to just bow down.

"You are only buying yourself moments. You'll never win. Not against the whole of the mage's organization, they'll always be more waiting. Did you think you'd get away with this? Summoning a forbidden Servant? Even when the war is over you'll never have any peace." She was hissing at me while working on a shield of her own.

Was Gilgamesh forbidden? That wasn't in any of the rules I'd read. Certainly, there was a need for a catalyst to summon a Servant, that was by the basic rules of magic involved in the grail war. However, no one had ever said that summoning a supposedly dead Servant was off the table. Was there more to it or was she simply bitter that she'd lost her twin in this process?

I took the time she was complaining and threatening to complete an aggressive spell before she could form her protective one. The birdlike white energy was almost blindingly bright and it slammed into her swiftly, knocking her backward across the entire field at the power behind my cast. She somersaulted wildly in the air like a rag doll slung from a catapult and slid for a while after she landed. I saw blood coming from her after the impact and she didn't move but judging by the wild screaming of her Servant nearby she wasn't dead. Berserker hadn't even flinched at her master's plight…then, sometimes it was hard to judge when it came to Servant's.

I stared at my hands in surprise, what was happening here? I shouldn't have been able to throw a spell with that much strength…I glanced toward Gilgamesh but he was laughing as he fought with Berserker, dodging, parrying and being parried on strikes of his own. He wasn't going to be offering any answers to my new list of questions right now.

I glanced toward where some of the other mages were beating on my shield after my incredible attack, raising my hand toward them and muttering the short incantation to shoot blackened projectiles of energy back at them. What I didn't expect was the targets or the forest, anywhere my energy hit burned so hotly it lit them on fire. What had happened to my magic? Was this because I'd fused my circuits with Gilgamesh? Was some of his power reflecting into mine? That was the only logical answer I had for this unexpected new development.

I didn't have time to consider it in detail now, gesturing and having to put another shield into place as the second started to crack. More powerful or not, I wasn't particularly fond of needing to take on this many opponents at once, it would still be a matter of time before they wore me down. I was trained in magic and even a little dueling but this hardly qualified. Hopefully Gilgamesh would finish his battle with Boudicca soon because it was a matter of time before one of the other mages got through…

 ** _Gilgamesh –_**

The mongrels could fight each other, I had something more rabid to deal with and while my pet's spells were strong it would have taken little effort for Berserker to wipe away the shield she'd created. Servants were always meant to be on a higher level than humans after all, that was why they were Heroic Spirits and not just normal humans. Well, that and the amount of mana they produced simply by existing. They were the energy to fill the grail after all…they couldn't be of a human level of power and accomplish that.

I laughed as the red-haired woman growled when I blocked her strikes, sometime by a blade in my hands, other times by blades that came from the gate of Babylon. What did she expect fighting me? Still, it was entertaining, her relentless stream of attacks swept away a modicum of the boredom I normally felt in fighting the majority of Servants. Yet, like most of her class, her lack of much rational thought tarnished her skill. I smirked as a few of my blades cut into her legs, holding her, however temporarily to the ground.

"I am curious." I remarked, watching her glare at me while grinning unconcerned at her ire. "You haven't released your noble phantasm; do you think yourself capable of defeating me without it?"

"Tch." The woman tore her legs free of my weapons and they faded to return to my armor for repairs, another of my blades bend in front of my face at the impact of her strike. Was that it then? Her legs were already nearly closed despite the wounds I'd caused. All Servants regenerated swiftly but hers was exceptional. Was she like Saber had been? Her Noble Phantasm always active to some degree in her exceptional reflects and regeneration. It was impressive, the only better I'd seen was Hercules himself but I doubted she would return from the dead. I jumped backward, and portals surrounded her, shooting at her from every angle.

"You will eventually run out of tricks! All men do." She cried out as the dust was clearing. She'd managed to parry any deadly strikes and was pulling weapons from her legs and arms. I chuckled at her, spending the time she was using to recover to glimpse Natsumi. She was battling well but her shield was starting to falter. I sent several blades into the mages, they certainly had no chance against them. I saw her send a shocked look my way but I only grinned more. This was the most fun I'd had in a while…then, I was also still full of energy.

"All this hissing, perhaps I should consider you a snake instead of a mongrel." I remarked as I glanced to where Boudicca was letting out frustrated sounds at being blocked by my blades at every angel. "Haven't you realized it yet? That I am beyond your ability to touch. I enjoy dancing with you well enough but my Master is struggling and I haven't more time to waste."

The fear that appeared in her was delightful. That moment of terrified realization where her defiant eyes rose in recognition of what she was about to see. At least, what she thought she was about to see. She began to back away when I raised my hand to draw out a blade, but it wasn't what she was hoping for. Ea had already been reintroduced to the world and I had no need to misuse her here, this man hating shrew wasn't worthy of her. Instead I caught her in Endiku, the Chains of Heaven she'd broken before but it had always taken her time. Still, they wrapped around her, pulling her body down and twisting her arms so she had to drop her spear.

"Ha, this only buys you ti…" She too had recognized that she was able to break through this attack but what she hadn't expected was for me to follow it with more blades. The combination of Endiku and my endless noble phantasms from portals would decimate her, had she really believed she would defeat me simply because I was a male? Foolish. Male, female, all mongrels too rabid would be put down if they stood against me regardless of something as trivial as gender. She didn't get to finish barking; her tongue was one of the many pieces her body lost in the attack.

 ** _Natsumi –_**

I saw several of the mages attacking me die as blades cut through them. Gilgamesh's ability for bloodshed and death was gory but also almost beautiful in the sheer effortlessness. It was incredible, and yet, I hadn't wanted this many people to die. I knew the Einzberg had to have been exaggerating but it felt as though the whole of the mages organization was already standing here against me now. I glanced back to the field of bodies, frowning at what had happened. I swallowed at the view of it, the blood was caked into the ground where the mages had first started attacking, it had dyed the grass beneath them crimson.

I wanted to call out to Gilgamesh, order him to end it now so less would die. I'd even opened my mouth but then I was blasted to the side, energy curled cruelly over my skin and my side where the blast had it was radiating waves of pain that made me feel nauseous. It was only a moment later I realized I'd been tossed backward, well away from where my shield had been. A familiar laugh drew my eyes, the Einzberg, whatever twin that remained, was fine now. She must share her Servant's swift regeneration. I was aware of many golden portals in the air where Gilgamesh was fighting but I couldn't look at them. Instead I was caught by the vicious gaze of the wizard walking toward me. She was already chanting again and I struggled to get a spell of my own in place.

"You think that's enough? You think this little gambit of yours matters? I'll hunt you to the ends of the earth." Clearly, she wasn't happy we'd killed her sister.

Dizzy. It was difficult to concentrate after I'd been tossed so far, with the pain that seemed to be spreading out further from my chest. At least one, if not several, of my ribs were certainly broken. It was more my newfound power than personal skill that I managed to construct anything before the next series of blasts hit. The shield I had formed was far lesser than the last few and it fell almost immediately to the strikes. I grit my teeth and wove my hands again, pushing the pain away. I had survived being Gilgamesh's master, I refused to die to a damn uppity homunculus on a vengeance kick.

My aggressive spell bounced off of one of hers but it was near her, driving her back. I smirked at her frustration and wove my fingers again, the syllables of the spell pouring out of my mouth now that I was waking up again. She couldn't match my next spell and it hit her near center, throwing her backward again but I followed with more of the black projectiles so she was on fire by the time she hit the ground. It was close to the time I heard an explosion from nearby, I could guess Gilgamesh was making short work of his own opponent and couldn't help but smirk, being on the field with him was intimidating at first, and still painful, but it was sort of thrilling. The mages were on the run now…they must have realized it was pointless since I didn't see any more blasts hit my shield. Was this bloody field the end of this grail war then?

All that was left was to make a wish…

 **End Chapter**

Just one more chapter for this story, just gotta find time/my muse to work on it. Whew, getting there. Almost done!

-Aura

To my reviewers:

Thanks to everyone that's stuck with my story so far. Anthem – I feel you on the Boudicca thing, still irritated by it whenever I see her in FGO. I've started calling her Boobica.


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